We are going to try a rather unique approach to the blog for this week. Here are your tasks:
1) Post a comment on a news story/issue/something you have found happening in the world of politics, United States, or the world stage. The goal in finding something to post on is to generate further responses from your classmates.
2) After you have posted your story, comment on another story which one of your classmates has posted. Simply give your feelings or reactions to what they have said.
This obviously will involve you having to do some research to look for a good story. Here is my only rule: ONCE SOMEONE HAS POSTED A STORY, YOU CANNOT USE THE SAME STORY! We are going to use the first come, first serve policy. This means you might need to find another topic or story. Please email me with questions.
31 comments:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/herman-cain-faces-public-airing-harassment?newsfeed=true
Herman Cain has recently been accused of sexually assaulting three women and has supposedly paid them off so that they wouldn't tell anyone. I think that after coming into the campaign later than Perry and Romney and now having such an accusation put against him is basically ruining his chance of winning the republican Election. Now that he is getting Perry involved also by saying it was the people from his group that started speaking out against Cain is going to definitely leave Romney with an obvious lead. On last weeks blog I started to somewhat like Cain a little bit even though I did not know much about him but I thought that his ad was interesting, entertaining, and to the point and I thought that if he would start getting more in the public eye, then he would be a could candidate when choosing in the Republican election. I did not think or expect all of the stories about him sexually assaulting women would come up and that is not the kind of publicity that will benefit him at all. I think that he will be out of the running and doubt there is a chance for him to win the Republican nomination after all of the drama that is involved with his name.
http://www.wkrn.com/story/15465748/mother-taken-into-custody-for-2-infants-deaths
This article is about Lindsey Lowe who admitted to killing her twin newborns the moment after they were born. It was found that she hid her pregnancy from everyone and did not go to any doctor appointments. She was not shy about admitting to the killings when questioned. Many people did not see it coming because she had no prior convictions of anything and on her facebook it was said that she wrote that the Bible was her favorite book. Which seems demented considering she killed her babies. She now is scheduled to have her bond hearing which was suppose to take place at the end of september. She was convicted again of having drugs in her system.
In response to Andi's post, I agree with her. These accusations against Cain are not increasing his popularity from the voters but it has increased his publicity which in some ways could be beneficial. The fact that the publicity is in a negative light will definitely take a toll on his running and nomination for the Republican Party. Many people who were supporters of Cain maybe changing their mind of their opinions on him, because no one wants a leader who can not be trusted and certainly seems like he can't. He has changed his story on these charges several times which makes him seem nervous about the whole situation. He is making himself sound guilty on the way he has spoken out about the accusations. Unfortunately for Cain his ratings will go down and most likely will not get the bid for the Republican Party.
Going off of Victorias article about the mom who killed her twin newborns babies: I think that is just completely terrible and disguisting. I do not understand how any mother, in their right mind, can kill her own children. I think it is so wrong for people to have children whoo aren't going to support them and especially those who will kill those babies. They are getting rid of a life that they just created and that is the worst thing someone could do. I think that this woman should at least be given life in prison and tested for her sanity. It is so beyond wrong that she would do something like this and then be saying "the Bible is my favorite book". Okay, no. You do not do that. God does NOT want you to kill your kids. It is the most irresponsible, inhumane, horrible thing and she does not deserve happiness ever. Those poor babies will never get to experience life and it is all because of something she decided to do when she is supposed to be the one person to love and support them. Not kill them.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45175020/ns/politics-decision_2012/#.TrXDU_Sa9tM
My article talks about how the 2012 presidential race is going to be tough, and most likely brutal. It is one year until the Election and the Republican field is still very up in the air which leaves Obama with only a guess about who his running opponent will be. It is said that it will be a very close race, very different from the 2008 race, and show the resentment people have towards politics and the worry of the economy. Republicans only need to pick the person because they already have their plan: play on how Obama was a failed leader that could not create jobs and hides from challenges. Obama will say how Republicans are obsessed with protect the richest of the rich people tax cuts while debt is increasing and working people are struggling. Americans should expect a very negative campaign. Obama will have to run a much more negative campaign because of the jobless rate that stands at levels that have never led a president to re-election since the Great Depression. In 2008 Obama was focused on hope and change, now it is poverty and fear. There is a very interesting race ahead with much work to be done. Obama won’t be able to “choose his strategy” until he knows who his opponent will be.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/05/news/international/greece_default/?npt=NP1
Currently in Greece, they are experiencing troubles with money. They are in debt by 130 billion Euros. In order to fix this Germany and France have been telling Greece to cut back on retirement benefits, make people work longer, and raise taxes. Some Greeks don’t want this and they have basically thought of a plan to get out of it all. Their plan is to default on their debt and start a whole other money currency called the drachma. However, many people from Europe don’t like this idea. There are many bad results that could come along with this new plan. One of these bad results include aid from other European countries. People believe that if they start this new currency that other European countries won’t provide them with aid. Without receiving money from these other countries, their economy would fail. Many people also believe that if the country isn’t receiving any money then people will rush to their banks and take out all of there money, leaving bank failures. Another result of this switch would be the spending cuts. Since the country wouldn’t be taking in that much money, they won’t be able to spend that much money. This will lead to people losing their jobs and an increase in unemployment. Overall this switch in currency can lead to another recession for Europe and it will pretty much affect the whole world. Although, there is a good chance that this will not happen, there is still a slight possibility.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/opinion/sracic-ohio-first-skirmish/index.html
This article talks about the big elections on Tuesday and how it could be the first "skirmish" in the 2012 presidential race. Because Republicans have gained power in Ohio as we lost 2 seats, they have been able to be in control. However, since Senate Bill 5 is a huge issue right now, Republicans are beginning to worry that Democrats might regain some of their power, which will be very beneficial when the presidential campaigns begin next year. Moreover, because Ohio is the swing-state which predicts who will win the presidential election, if the bill is rejected, then it seems that Democratic candidate will get the votes he wants from our state.
In response to Daniel, I definitely agree that next year's election will be brutal. There will also be a lot of negativity towards Obama and his administration, which will be the only strategy that the Republicans will use in order to try and sway voters into voting for their Republican candidate. This will definitely serve as a challenge to Obama because he still doesn't really know who he's up against, but I'm sure he knows that he has to be able to defend his actions and supply some reasoning for why he did what he did, or what he didn't do. As of right now, I do believe that if the Republican party can rally together and choose to right candidate to run against Obama, it will lower his chances of being re-elected. The only thing the Republican party has to do is choose a candidate that isn't under scrutiny for his speech (Perry) or someone that is generally well-liked, which might be a hard thing for them to fulfill.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/08/us/health-care-ruling/index.html?hpt=us_c2
This article was about the new health care bill and how it was held Constitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This decision has caused an even greater divide between the supporters and the critics. The critics of this bill fear that it will lead to socialized health care with higher taxes and worse health care conditions. They feel it is unconstitutional to force people to buy healthcare which is a product when they may not need or want it. Those opposed to the bill feel that since that is the central focus of the bill which is composed of around 450 sections, it should be declared unconstitutional. People who support the Health Care reform, feel that every American should have health care because it highly likely that someday they will need health insurance.
I personally oppose this bill because I agree that it is unconstitutional to force people to buy something that they do not want. Our country was founded on freedom and by passing this bill our government has taken away our freedom of choosing if we want to buy health care insurance or not. This bill gives the government way to much power in our life as citizens. By passing it, it is basically saying that there is no limit to what our government can do to oppose on our personal liberties.
In response to Patricia's article, I feel like restrictions do need to be raised in order protect the public. This tragic event shouldn't even have happened because that man should not have been able to legally own that many, or any even, exotic animals. People need to realize that animals that are bigger than humans or potentially eat humans, are not meant to be pets. They are wild animals that are not supposed to be domesticated. Also, these animals would not be living in suitable environments. Zoos are bad enough and these poor exotic creatures do not need to be subjected to poor living conditions with people who are not properly trained to take care of them. Because the state does not have strong enough restrictions, random people can get these wild, exotic, potentially dangerous animals and live anymore. The state should prohibit any civilians from owning exotic animals. This incident in Zanesville resulted in many horrible situations. First of all, all the citizens were put in danger because there were wild and dangerous animals roaming the area. Secondly, the police force was put into danger because they had to go and killed all the dangerous animals. Thirdly, the animals were killed even though many of them were endangered species. I understand that it wouldn't have been safe for the police officers to tranquilize the animals, but it doesn't change the fact that killed animals that are already struggling to keep their populations. These species are on the way to extinction and because the state allowed this one man to possess them, they were killed. These were animals that could have been perfectly fine, healthy, and content living in their natural environments. Also, the current state regulations makes it easy to sell/obtain exotic animals. I don't understand why anyone would want to own one in the first place, or why the state doesn't think it's necessary to fix the laws in order to protect their citizens. I honestly am not usually this passionate about animal rights, but when it comes to exotic animals who are already not stable in this world, I am. Tigers are also my favorite animals to think of one brutally murdered because of one man and the state's poor regulations is completely appalling. This should be a lesson to the state's and the should take greater steps to fix the problem before something worse happens. Injuries from wild animals are not fake. They are real. Just look at the woman who was attacked by the chimp.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15642138
The election on Tuesday brought up many controversal issues. One of these issues included the anti-abortion ammendment that was put on the ballot in Mississippi. The state already had strict regulations reguarding abortion, and wanted to completely end abortion in throughout the state. This amendment would also end the use of certian birth control methods such as pills that would kill the fetus if taken within a certain time period after conception. Both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governer that ran on Tuesday supported the amendment. However the anti-abortion amendment failed to pass last Tuesday. The personhood campaigners hoped to bring the same question to Ohio, Florida and South Dakota
In response to Kristen's article, I agree with the amendment that Mississippi was trying to pass. Growing up as a practicing Catholic has shaped the morals and values that I have today. Therefore, I beleive that a person is created at the moment of conception. However, with today's teen generation, which is borderline corrupt, I can't say that I am not surprised that this amendment did not pass. Many people underestimate the conseqences of having sex, and they think that having an abortion is simply the answer. I believe that women who have abortions are very selfish, in most cases. I do acknowledge exceptions, however, like pregnancies caused by rape. Women who just have abortions because they aren't ready for a baby or simply don't want one, are extremely selfish because they are only considering their own benefit, and not the future of the baby. They basically murder a human being because they can, and that's not okay with me. I hope that this amendment is brought to Ohio, although I don't think it will be successful here either, unfortunately. With programs to increase public awareness, especially for teens, maybe this amendment will pass in the future. I am still hopeful.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/postal-service-to-customers-we-want-our-stuff-back/2011/11/09/gIQAembV5M_blog.html
The United States Postal Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service are facing financial problems due to the increased use of new technological communication such as email, but another main contributor to the decline of the American postal system is due to stolen equipment such as pens, tape guns, letter trays, letter pallets, and mail tubs which must be replaced each year with a sum of nearly $50 million. Stealing postal equipment is a federal crime and can result in fines up to $250,000 or three years in prison. The United States Postal Inspection Service has discovered several cases in which stolen postal equipment was sold to supply companies. Letter pallets which are valued at $20 each, letter trays valued at $2.75, and mail tubs valued at $4 are all considered federal property and are often stolen from American post offices by people trying to seek a profit. In response to this phenomenon, the United States Postal Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service are allowing people to return any stolen equipment to the postal service without any questions asked, and people can also arrange for pick-up of these items. I think that this is a good idea, but I am not sure how people will respond to it. I think that most Americans who have stolen these items will not return them. While I still think that the American postal service is important, its influence is decreasing as it is no longer necessary for communication.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45231890/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
My article is about a mother who has recently been more and more questioned because of new evidence proving that she has been lying to the police. She reported her son, Sky Metalwala, to be missing. Her story that she told the police was that she had left her son in the car to go get gas because they has ran out. She had left the car unlocked and when she returned, her son was gone. Investigators ha\ve recently discovered that her car did indeed have enough gas, contradicting that basis of the mother, Julia Biryukova's, story as to how her son when missing. In addition, she is refusing to take a polyugraph test, which is a lie detector. Her refusal to cooperate and her story that is falling apart are leading police and investigators to be very suspicious.
In response to Julie Colianni's comment, Republicans are probably more relieved now. Since the voting happened two days ago, they were able to see the outcome already. The last issue that Mr. Shannon showed us on the computer about Ohians voting for being able to choose their own healthcare program and refuse Obamacare defintiely sends a message to republicans that many Ohians are losing faith in and do not agree with Obama.On the other hand, it tells Obama that he will have a tough race next election and it also helps him to know that he really needs to step up his game and campaign more to Ohians in order to gain their vote. It will be interesting to see how he handles Ohio's apparent dislike towards his plan. But for now, I am sure that Republicans are happy with the outcome of the polls.
In responce to Emily's article, I agree with her opinion. Tuesday was the day to decide whether or not certain pieces of legislation are passed, and the media is reporting about a pollworker biting another man's nose. I think the man who intervened was was doing the right thing trying to settle the dispute before something happened. Based on how the pollworker was acting, he was probably concerned about the safety of the woman in the arguement as well as the voters watching. The pollworker over reacted. I don't know how the pollworker decided to bite the man's nose, but it shows a lot about the kind og person he is and how he was brought up. He brought a lot of embarassment on himself and his family. However I believe it took a lot of courage to surrender himself to the police.
In response to Mary Bridget, I find this to be sad. Why do Americans feel the need to steal from the United States Postal Service? They basically are working for us, well our government, and supply us with the means to send and receive important information and items. I think that our society is pretty sad when our postal service is asking us to return stolen items and there will be no questions asked. Honestly, who walks into a post office with the idea, of stealing letter trays, mail tubs, or letter pallets? Apparently enough people so the postal service has $50 million worth of replacing to do. I don't think many Americans are going to return their stolen items because they could feel that they already have gotten away with it, want to keep it, have fear of getting in trouble, or for fear of what others with say and think. Even though they say no questions asked, I have a feeling that person will not be asked to return again to that post office. I think that it should still be a necessary thing for communication; there are some things that you just can't email such as card with a handwritten note from your grandma. :)
In response to Andi’s blog post I agree with her when she says that Cain doesn’t have much of a chance of winning the primary elections. There have been many acuusations against him and I want to know if they are really true. Is it possible that these women could be telling the truth or even lying about what happened. I wonder if Cain would have become the top candidate for the republican party if it was not for these women. It seems like he is going down the hole now and there is really no way that he can get himself out.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/politics/things-we-learned-gop-debate/index.html
This article is about the presidential debate that happened Wednesday night in Michigan. The debate was very interesting and revealed a lot about each candidate. First of all, when he was asked what three governmental agencies he would eliminate he completely forgot what the third agency was. He stood there struggling for quite some time before he finally admitted he couldn't remember. Next, Romney continued to stress his opposition to the government bailout of the auto industry and his criticism of federal efforts to modify home loans and prevent foreclosures. Also, Gingrich's open hate of the media has caused him to rise in all of the polls. Lastly, a recent poll shows that more than half of GOP voters don't care about the sexual harassment allegations against Cain. Also, throughout the debate Cain continued to avoid tough policy questions.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/opinion/graham-debate-perry/index.html
We discussed this topic briefly in class today, but this article is about Rick Perry’s little blunder at last night’s CNBC Republican presidential debate. When asked to name three agencies of government that he would get rid of he were to be elected to office, Perry could only name two. He said that he would get rid of Education and Commerce and was unable to come up with the third one. He stumbled with his words while trying to think of the third agency he would get rid of and ended his answer with “oops.” Perry’s mental block is obviously really bad and will definitely hurt him in this election. What’s even worse, and is something that I did not know before reading this article, is that Perry wasn’t even asked that specific question. He was asked a completely different question but decided to spice up his answer by saying that he would cut three government agencies but then failed to name the third one. So this whole thing could have been avoided entirely. Perry’s performance during debates hasn’t been the best, but this mistake really took away any credibility he had.
In response to Julie’s article, I think that this situation is pretty neat. It’s really cool how the outcome of Tuesday’s election can possibly be a prediction of who wins the presidential election. According to this article, if Issue 2 passes and Senate Bill 5 is repealed, there’s a good chance that Barack Obama will win over Ohio come the presidential election. It’s all pretty confusing but also makes sense at the same time. I just think it’s really cool how this little election in Ohio can be a predictor of who wins next year’s presidential election. I also think it’s really cool how Ohio is the swing state and how the presidential candidates are all vying to win our state over. Anyways, since Issue 2 did pass, that puts Obama at a better place in this election, which is exciting. But, going off of what Katie mentioned, another thing that was reflected in the outcome of Tuesday’s election is Ohioans dislike towards mandating that everyone has health insurance. That was voted against by a huge margin which could potentially hurt Obama in the election. However I think that the passing of Issue 2 is a bigger predictor and I hope that Obama will be able to win over Ohio.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/10/news/international/greece_papademos.cnnw/index.htm
This article is about the new prime minister for the country of Greece. After the original lost a vote of no confidence, Greece had to scramble to find a leader to guide their country through this crisis. Their new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, was originally the vice president of the European Central Bank. I think that the government of Greece is hoping that by electing someone with experience in banking, that they will have a better shot at surviving this financial crisis. According to this website, the Greek government is hoping to pass a bailout package, but with investors worried about their finances, the government is worried that it will not pass.
In response to Patricia's blog, I believe that Ohio defiantly needs stricter exotic animal laws. Yes, baby tigers look cute, but what are you going to do with them once they reach their full size and you are no longer able to handle them safely. There have been so many stories that have detailed one person after another being mauled by an animal that a person got as a baby, and then was unable to handle. I propose that, not only to implement stricter ownership laws, but to make the owner of the animal that attacked someone pay for all of the medical care that they need, especially any reconstructive surgery. It is difficult for a family to go through something like that, and since it is the owner's own fault for buying and keeping a wild animal on their property, it seems fair to have them pay a proper price.
In response to Carolyn's article, I completely agree with the critics of the bill and Carolyn. I don't agree that this bill is constitutional, because it essentially says that the government can tell us what we have to do and buy. This bill gives the government way too much control over our lives. This bill really will create socialized medicine. I am so glad that the voters in Ohio on Tuesday decided that we should be able to choose what kind of healthcare we want. I completely agree with Carolyn that this bill is taking away our freedom as Americans.
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/09/romney-and-perry-attack-obama-handling-of-israel-and-iran/
This article is about how Romney and Perry were bashing Obama after they accidentally heard Obama's conversation with the French President during an open mic pick up. Obama and Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President, were conversing negatively about the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Romney and Perry were saying that Obama's criticism of the Israeli Prime Minister makes our country look bad because Israel has always been our ally. I think that Obama is completely wrong for speaking so poorly of Netanyahu because Israel is always under threat of an Arab attack and they need our help, not criticism. Romney and Perry are also criticizing Obama's policy in Iran. They said that his policy based on outreach and limited sanctions has failed. Obama felt that he could negotiate away the nuclear arms threat posed by Iran building a nuclear weapon. Romney and Perry were saying that Obama needs to take a tougher stance to protect American security. I agree with everything these two men were saying. Obama needs to better protect our country because the terrorists in Iran will attack American interests in the Middle East, attack our allies abroad, and even threaten America itself if they build nuclear arms.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/us/calvin-gibbs-convicted-of-killing-civilians-in-afghanistan.html?_r=1&hp
This article is about an American soldier who was accused and convicted of killing 3 Afghan civilians for sport while in war. He was charged with multiple counts and was sentenced to life in prison. He was convicted in under a day of deliberation, for which the credit can mainly go to his fellow soldiers who testified against him as eye-witness accounts.
I thought that this article was disturbing and sad. I cannot believe that our soldier was out there wasting our weaponry and time on innocent people. The Afghanistan government is upset over this, as any normal government should be. I think that it was inexusable and rude and I am glad that this young soldier will be left in jail the rest of his life. It is a horrible way to look at the US army and this stupid act will giver us a horrible image that we obviously do not deserve.
In response to Ellen's article I believe that Perry made a huge mistake that will quite possibly cost him the election. You cannot dig yourself out of a hole that you made yourself by just saying "oops". He is an embarrassment to the republican title right now and I think that is upsetting that he would try to spice up an answer and then mess it up. Seriously, Perry, who does that? I lost a lot of confidence in him because of this screw-up. Everybody makes mistakes, but this in particular was just a dumb one to make.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/10/bachmann-interrupted-by-protesters/
Occupy Wall street has been a large movement that has grow in encompass more than hundreds of people around the United States in their home cities to protest against the Wall street finical district. Recently a branch of Occupy Wall street, under the title of 'Occupy Charleston', disrupted Michele Bachmann during a speech on foreign policy. After watching the video that is shown on the article I found it to be very disruptive, what the protesters did. I do not find the Wall street movement offensive or anything but when these protesters act without thought as to how inappropriate their actions can come across I think these people need to be restricted in some way. I think their movements have a good purpose that bring awareness to American citizens but these people who have chosen to camp out in the streets of major cities and disrupt politicians' speeches have become out of control. I must say that Michele Bachmann's facial reaction to the people chanting is pretty funny to watch as she is not quite sure on how to respond and just listens to what they have to say.
In response to Ellen's article:
I agree with Ellen's opinions on the Rick Perry mistakes during the debate in Michigan on Wednesday. I do not think Rick Perry is as focused as the other candidates in the Republican Party to get the nomination because Perry has not been showing signs of a man who truly wants the Presidential position. Multiple times in the situation of a proposed question in front of thousands Rick Perry has messed up with his answer, in regards to the illegal Mexicans with in-state tuition and most recently the three departments he wants to shrink. I agree with Ellen that it was silly he brought this up himself, being that he was asked a totally different question, and that if he had not brought this up Perry could have avoided this whole mishap and kept a steadily declining reputation, compared to the fast drop he received after the debate. I think if Perry wants to win the nomination he has a lot to catch up on in order to repair his image.
In response to Kristen’s article, I think that the issue of abortion is important, and it would be interesting to see if this amendment would pass in Ohio. I personally believe that abortion is wrong and that it is essentially murder, but I do not think that this amendment would have a very good chance of passing in Ohio. I can understand if someone does not feel that they are ready to take care of a child, but you can still give your child the gift of life and arrange for an adoption. Although people argue that women should have the liberty to choose if they would like to have an abortion, I do not think that people should be given a choice because it is something that can have negative health effects for a woman, and when people are uneducated on a specific subject, they are unable to make a good decision for themselves. Besides being morally wrong, abortion violates the principle of life as in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” which our country was founded on. All people in America, including unborn babies, deserve a fair chance to experience life as an American citizen and to seize the opportunity of the American dream.
Post a Comment