12/30/13
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/30/russian-terror-attacks-could-be-chilling-prelude-to-olympic-violence/
There have been two linked suicide bombing in the Russian city of Volgograd, formely known as Stalingrad.
Theses bombings killed 31 dead. Both occurred within 24 hours of each other. Terror experts say that the attacks were inspired, possibly even ordered by Chechen Muslim leader Doku Umarov. He said, "Satanic dancing on the bones of our ancestors," referring to the Winter Olympics being played in Sochi, Russia. Sochi is 400 miles southwest of Volgograd. There has been a lot of contention between Chechen Muslims and Moscow due to a dispute of who's land is whose. Russian president Vladimir Putin has already deployed thousands of troops and created a security zone that extends miles beyond Sochi. Though there are experts that say the terrorists are probably already inside the security zone. These same experts say it would be shocking if there wasn't a attack during the Olympics but it would be difficult for it to be on a large scale.
I find this a very daunting and chilling developing situation. The fact that experts are saying that a terrorist attack at the games is inevitable is scary. This is just another example of problems between two different groups of people who believe a certain area of land belongs to them. It is hard to stop terrorist attacks though. Something that also surprised me from this article was that the two suicide bombers were women. I had never heard of women terrorists. As for my opinion on this article there isn't much too have an opinion on. I will be very interested what happens regarding this through the games. I hope that nothing serious happens. I love the Olympics.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Step Down for Sebelius?
10/22/13
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/22/paul-ryan-hhs-secretary-should-step-down-over-obamacare/?hpt=hp_t1
Several Republicans are saying that Health and Human Services Secretary should step down because of issues relating to the Obamacare website. Since its launch there have been many problems with the technology and other things. Sebelius gave the impression to the Congress that the site was ready to launch and would perform flawlessly, knowing otherwise. Despite all this President Obama addressed this by saying that there are issues but also many people have been able to sign up and save money instantly.
In my opinion someone should be held responsible for the problems. If there were so many problems and someone owned up to them before it started we would have been able to get them fixed prior to the launch and save stress and arguing. If Sebelius really did know about problems but did not share her knowledge I think that she should definitely blamed and held responsible for the current situation. Her along with anyone else that had this same knowledge.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/22/paul-ryan-hhs-secretary-should-step-down-over-obamacare/?hpt=hp_t1
Several Republicans are saying that Health and Human Services Secretary should step down because of issues relating to the Obamacare website. Since its launch there have been many problems with the technology and other things. Sebelius gave the impression to the Congress that the site was ready to launch and would perform flawlessly, knowing otherwise. Despite all this President Obama addressed this by saying that there are issues but also many people have been able to sign up and save money instantly.
In my opinion someone should be held responsible for the problems. If there were so many problems and someone owned up to them before it started we would have been able to get them fixed prior to the launch and save stress and arguing. If Sebelius really did know about problems but did not share her knowledge I think that she should definitely blamed and held responsible for the current situation. Her along with anyone else that had this same knowledge.
Just 2 Brigades
10/22/13
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/22/army-chief-just-2-brigades-combat-ready/
After the sequester and temporary government shutdown the military has suffered. The army is down to only two brigades that are ready for combat. They haven't had the funds to train their own troops. Across the board cuts affected the ability for the army to train. They are hoping to get 7 brigades ready by June but they don't know if that will be feasible. The training and equipment are essential to make the army ready.
I find this kind of scary that even the army feels like they aren't ready for anything if they were needed. If we have an untrained army, well that is just not good. I think that we don't need to have an overwhelming large army that would be hard to fund and support but I am in favor a larger army. I think it is important to have them ready and I see it is necessary for us to get these brigades up and training so we need to pass a bill for more military funding.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/22/army-chief-just-2-brigades-combat-ready/
After the sequester and temporary government shutdown the military has suffered. The army is down to only two brigades that are ready for combat. They haven't had the funds to train their own troops. Across the board cuts affected the ability for the army to train. They are hoping to get 7 brigades ready by June but they don't know if that will be feasible. The training and equipment are essential to make the army ready.
I find this kind of scary that even the army feels like they aren't ready for anything if they were needed. If we have an untrained army, well that is just not good. I think that we don't need to have an overwhelming large army that would be hard to fund and support but I am in favor a larger army. I think it is important to have them ready and I see it is necessary for us to get these brigades up and training so we need to pass a bill for more military funding.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Another School Shooting
10/21/13
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/21/justice/nevada-middle-school-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
There has been another school shooting. This was in Nevada and with fewer causalities but still it happened. A student took to firing the gun he took from his parents. He killed a popular math teacher and wounded two other students. The incident was very short and only last a few minutes. The shooter is no longer alive and they are still trying to figure out if he died by self inflicted wounds or by law enforcement. They also said that if he was targeting someone in specific or if he just wanted to go on a shooting spree, it is unclear.
There is something that needs to be done to prevent these kinds of things from happening again. I think everyone can agree upon that. But how is the question. I think that now it is becoming more and more common and that makes it a bigger chance for it to happen at anyone's school. I also think that it is becoming a security vs. privacy issue. Gun control is not the problem. Yes there needs to be a better control of who gets guns but as comes up with every shooting incident... guns are not the issue. It is the people. In the articles it stated that his mother had said he had been bullied in the past and maybe that led to the violence in the school. We need to get control of bullying and help those who have been and that will help with this kind of retaliation. But you can't control everything. Sometimes stuff like this is going to happen and you have no control and no way to prevent it either.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/21/justice/nevada-middle-school-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
There has been another school shooting. This was in Nevada and with fewer causalities but still it happened. A student took to firing the gun he took from his parents. He killed a popular math teacher and wounded two other students. The incident was very short and only last a few minutes. The shooter is no longer alive and they are still trying to figure out if he died by self inflicted wounds or by law enforcement. They also said that if he was targeting someone in specific or if he just wanted to go on a shooting spree, it is unclear.
There is something that needs to be done to prevent these kinds of things from happening again. I think everyone can agree upon that. But how is the question. I think that now it is becoming more and more common and that makes it a bigger chance for it to happen at anyone's school. I also think that it is becoming a security vs. privacy issue. Gun control is not the problem. Yes there needs to be a better control of who gets guns but as comes up with every shooting incident... guns are not the issue. It is the people. In the articles it stated that his mother had said he had been bullied in the past and maybe that led to the violence in the school. We need to get control of bullying and help those who have been and that will help with this kind of retaliation. But you can't control everything. Sometimes stuff like this is going to happen and you have no control and no way to prevent it either.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Political Games
10/14/13
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/14/rollback-cuts-fuels-claims-that-government-inflated-impact-partial-shutdown/
I feel like I should probably try to do a post about something other than the shutdown, but the big headlines continue to be about it so here I go again....
Outrage is what most people are feeling about the government as a whole right now. They can't get their act together and make anything work. The blame has been all over the place but now President Barack Obama is receiving a lot of the fire. There have been many charges that the cutbacks due to the shutdown were exaggerated and the closing off of many popular vet memorials and the march in Washington to protest these closures. Fellow democrat and representative of Washington, DC criticized Obama for not letting her city spend revenue that the government has control over. There are also blames that Obama is trying to make this shutdown as painful as possible. He is playing games trying to pressure the Republicans, who are also receiving a lot of blame, to letting the Democrats get what they want. There was even a National Park Ranger who told The Washington Times, "We've been told to make life as difficult for people as possible. It's disgusting."
So it seems that there is a lot of misleading being done during this whole ordeal. We have talked about this in class about how politics today is becoming all about winning the power and less about the actual issues and what is best for the country. I am not surprised that the country is being in a way tricked and used to get one's way. Though it seems as though President Obama seems to be the one this time around, I know that the Republicans are to blame for playing games at different times, too. Now because of the mistrust everyone has towards the government it is hard to tell when we are being told and given the truth and when we are not. The boy who cried wolf. Politics is becoming very muddled and confusing. I just hope that after all this stuff, we can get back of track and help our country to a better place, whatever it takes.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/14/rollback-cuts-fuels-claims-that-government-inflated-impact-partial-shutdown/
I feel like I should probably try to do a post about something other than the shutdown, but the big headlines continue to be about it so here I go again....
Outrage is what most people are feeling about the government as a whole right now. They can't get their act together and make anything work. The blame has been all over the place but now President Barack Obama is receiving a lot of the fire. There have been many charges that the cutbacks due to the shutdown were exaggerated and the closing off of many popular vet memorials and the march in Washington to protest these closures. Fellow democrat and representative of Washington, DC criticized Obama for not letting her city spend revenue that the government has control over. There are also blames that Obama is trying to make this shutdown as painful as possible. He is playing games trying to pressure the Republicans, who are also receiving a lot of blame, to letting the Democrats get what they want. There was even a National Park Ranger who told The Washington Times, "We've been told to make life as difficult for people as possible. It's disgusting."
So it seems that there is a lot of misleading being done during this whole ordeal. We have talked about this in class about how politics today is becoming all about winning the power and less about the actual issues and what is best for the country. I am not surprised that the country is being in a way tricked and used to get one's way. Though it seems as though President Obama seems to be the one this time around, I know that the Republicans are to blame for playing games at different times, too. Now because of the mistrust everyone has towards the government it is hard to tell when we are being told and given the truth and when we are not. The boy who cried wolf. Politics is becoming very muddled and confusing. I just hope that after all this stuff, we can get back of track and help our country to a better place, whatever it takes.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Negotiations Stall on Capitol Hill
10/12/13
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/12/negotiations-stall-on-capitol-hill-house-leaves-collins-plan-in-serious-doubt/
A new plan was presented by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins was presented today (Saturday) and was rejected. Her plan would have funded the government for six months and increase the federal debt limit through January. She also had proposed a two-year delay on the medicinal device tax and income verification for those seeking subsidies for Obamacare. It was supposedly rejected because the $967 billion budget was too low. This means that any hope for a deal can only come as soon as Tuesday. Jabs are continuing to go back and forth with Republicans saying President Obama won't talk and Eric Cantor is the only one who can propose a way to open the government back up. So we still have no deal and no open government.
Another deal was proposed but there seemed to be no agreement even close to being made. One positive note that was made in the article was that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnel continue to have an open dialogue and discuss about what needs to be done. One thing that the Republicans do not seem to want to give in on is the medicinal device tax. I, personally, have done a lot of research on this but I wonder what the cons are to this tax. I know that its purpose is to fund Obamacare, but is that the only reason that there is such a negative response towards it? I will need to do some more research because I wonder if the Republicans will budge on this part of the deal.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/12/negotiations-stall-on-capitol-hill-house-leaves-collins-plan-in-serious-doubt/
A new plan was presented by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins was presented today (Saturday) and was rejected. Her plan would have funded the government for six months and increase the federal debt limit through January. She also had proposed a two-year delay on the medicinal device tax and income verification for those seeking subsidies for Obamacare. It was supposedly rejected because the $967 billion budget was too low. This means that any hope for a deal can only come as soon as Tuesday. Jabs are continuing to go back and forth with Republicans saying President Obama won't talk and Eric Cantor is the only one who can propose a way to open the government back up. So we still have no deal and no open government.
Another deal was proposed but there seemed to be no agreement even close to being made. One positive note that was made in the article was that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnel continue to have an open dialogue and discuss about what needs to be done. One thing that the Republicans do not seem to want to give in on is the medicinal device tax. I, personally, have done a lot of research on this but I wonder what the cons are to this tax. I know that its purpose is to fund Obamacare, but is that the only reason that there is such a negative response towards it? I will need to do some more research because I wonder if the Republicans will budge on this part of the deal.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Shutdown Day 11: The Lowdown
10/11/13
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/11/showdown-day-11-the-lowdown/?hpt=hp_t1
The government is still in shutdown mode. Different people and programs are continuing to go with money and funding. The debt limit deadline is less than a week away. Some specific areas of the country really hurting from the shutdown: the fishing industry, North Carolina's food aid recipients, Maine's heating for low income families and a bunch of bills and payments to the people of DC. The people who issue the fishermen permits are off the job which means the fishermen themselves don't have their permits. The crab season starts in a few days and without permits they will all be without a way to make a living. Other countries will take advantage of this and import cheap fish to the US. The Congress controls most of DC's money and so with no debt ceiling agreement reached yet there is no money to help DC run. The good news after all this is that a deal might be getting closer to being reached. Republican senators came with a new deal and spoke with President Obama this morning. It included a plan to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government but did not include a tax on medicinal devices that would used to fund Obamacare.
I think that a deal needs to made; and made quick. The deadline is less that a week away, and consequences will follow if an agreement is not made. Both sides have become so stubborn and wanting to win this battle that I just don't know what will come out of this. We need to reopen the government and get people their paychecks back. Everyone knows this and I hope that everyone in Congress realizes this as I suspect they do. Even though I am no supported of Obamacare and do not want it funded or be put in affect I believe that the Republicans need to put a deal that the Democrats will accept forward; even if that includes funding Obamacare. It has been passed over and over and we should see if it works out. Lets please just get the government out of a shutdown, whatever it takes.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/11/showdown-day-11-the-lowdown/?hpt=hp_t1
The government is still in shutdown mode. Different people and programs are continuing to go with money and funding. The debt limit deadline is less than a week away. Some specific areas of the country really hurting from the shutdown: the fishing industry, North Carolina's food aid recipients, Maine's heating for low income families and a bunch of bills and payments to the people of DC. The people who issue the fishermen permits are off the job which means the fishermen themselves don't have their permits. The crab season starts in a few days and without permits they will all be without a way to make a living. Other countries will take advantage of this and import cheap fish to the US. The Congress controls most of DC's money and so with no debt ceiling agreement reached yet there is no money to help DC run. The good news after all this is that a deal might be getting closer to being reached. Republican senators came with a new deal and spoke with President Obama this morning. It included a plan to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government but did not include a tax on medicinal devices that would used to fund Obamacare.
I think that a deal needs to made; and made quick. The deadline is less that a week away, and consequences will follow if an agreement is not made. Both sides have become so stubborn and wanting to win this battle that I just don't know what will come out of this. We need to reopen the government and get people their paychecks back. Everyone knows this and I hope that everyone in Congress realizes this as I suspect they do. Even though I am no supported of Obamacare and do not want it funded or be put in affect I believe that the Republicans need to put a deal that the Democrats will accept forward; even if that includes funding Obamacare. It has been passed over and over and we should see if it works out. Lets please just get the government out of a shutdown, whatever it takes.
Monday, September 2, 2013
A Renewed Opposition and a Lack of Home Support
09/01/2013 Constitution/Branches of Government (Unit)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/02/obama-faces-renewed-international-opposition-on-syria-while-trying-to-win-us/
President Obama now has some bigger problems of international opposition concerning taking military action against Assad in Syria. After trying to convince Russia with evidence that the Syrian government is using chemical weapons on it's citizens, Russia replied by saying the evidence was, "absolutely unconvincing". A spokesman from China also spoke opposing the US acting alone against the Assad. The only support the United States have is from France. Obama and his administration are also furiously working to gain support in Congress for military action. If needed Obama can use his presidential power and authority to initiate retaliatory strikes without Congress support. The vote is split right now and the President needs every vote he can get.
In my opinion, I think that the President really needs support from other nations before taking action, and if we are going to take action we need to focus on removing Assad from power. According to the Geneva Convention it is illegal for ones government to attack its' own people, and with the use of chemical weapons is really pushing the line. If the evidence is accurate then I believe that we need to take military action; however, only with Congresses approval. I believe it would be a huge mistake for the President to not have his own countries support and go for it. President George W. Bush made this mistake recieved very negative publicity for it. If we don't go take care of the "bully" (Assad) though, then he will continue to hurt his own people. All of this makes for a very sticky situation with consequences either way you go.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/02/obama-faces-renewed-international-opposition-on-syria-while-trying-to-win-us/
President Obama now has some bigger problems of international opposition concerning taking military action against Assad in Syria. After trying to convince Russia with evidence that the Syrian government is using chemical weapons on it's citizens, Russia replied by saying the evidence was, "absolutely unconvincing". A spokesman from China also spoke opposing the US acting alone against the Assad. The only support the United States have is from France. Obama and his administration are also furiously working to gain support in Congress for military action. If needed Obama can use his presidential power and authority to initiate retaliatory strikes without Congress support. The vote is split right now and the President needs every vote he can get.
In my opinion, I think that the President really needs support from other nations before taking action, and if we are going to take action we need to focus on removing Assad from power. According to the Geneva Convention it is illegal for ones government to attack its' own people, and with the use of chemical weapons is really pushing the line. If the evidence is accurate then I believe that we need to take military action; however, only with Congresses approval. I believe it would be a huge mistake for the President to not have his own countries support and go for it. President George W. Bush made this mistake recieved very negative publicity for it. If we don't go take care of the "bully" (Assad) though, then he will continue to hurt his own people. All of this makes for a very sticky situation with consequences either way you go.