Red Cross text donations pass $21M

Red Cross started an electronic campaign to raise money for the earthquake survivors shortly after the quake hit Haiti. In all of 2009, only 4 million dollars was raised by similar texting fundraisers. The texting fundraiser for Haiti raised 3 million dollars in the first 24 hours of its campaign and has topped 21 million on Sunday night. The Red Cross got its message out through Twitter, Facebook and other online media. The NFL games on Sundays also sponsored the fundraiser by showing a commercial encouraging people to text a donation to the Red Cross. People text "Haiti" to the number 90999. They will then recieve a text back with donation verifications which will then be added to their phone bill at the end of the month. Apple has also helped the cause. It is now possible to donate up to $50 on itunes to the Red Cross. Also, Apple applications designers got together and decided to donate all of they money that they made in one day from selling apps to the Red Cross. Money is continuing to pour in, but many people have yet to be saved.


I think this is just astounding. Even with the economy in a slump I think that it is inspiring that people are coming together to do something about the disaster in Haiti. Not everyone can go to Haiti to help search for survivors, but everyone can donate 1 dollar to the Red Cross to help buy food, water, and supplies for the people down in Haiti who are without homes and resources. This in fact has inspired me to donate which I will do right now.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/18/redcross.texts/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

An e-mail from Haiti, then minutes later, a nightmare

Ken Bourland was in Haiti for military work. He was staying at the Hotel Montana near Port-au-Prince. Ten minutes before the earthquake hit he had sent any email to his wife Peggy, who lives in South Florida, that he was all settled in and doing great. The earthquake shattered the Hotel Montana. This hotel was a common stay place for tourists and visitors. In recent days students from South Florida's Lynn University have been recovered from the rubble of the hotel so there is still room for optimism. Like thousands of others, all Peggy can do right now is wait and hope to hear from her husband.



This earthquake is becoming more devastating by the minute. Not only has it destroyed the capital of Haiti but it has potentially devastated the lives of thousands of people who have lost loved ones to the quake. Reading all of these stories I want to fly down to Haiti and just search for people and dig through rubble. Since they don't have enough help to search for people, survivors might die. It is hard to just sit back and watch all of this going on in the news. Natural disastors are so extremely devastating because there is no one to blame and no allies to ask for help. I just hope that the survivors of the quake that are buried in the rubble are found in time before they die from starvation or dehydration.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/17/airforce.major.missing/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Communication breakdown increases heartache of Haiti quake

Communication lines are still down in Haiti. People who have loved ones who were there at the time of the earthquake are becoming more worried fromt he lack in response or contact from their family members and friends. Very few phone calls are going through but some people are able to text or use the internet to get a hold of the outside world. Many people waiting for contact have used the CNN iReport Web to post a blog of pictures and information of their missing loved ones. Johanna Neyra is searching for his cousin and wife. Naeemah Carre is trying to locate her brother and six other relatives. Marie Aline Sillice has not yet heard from her father or cousin who were in Haiti the time of the quake. Chico and Kathleen Boyer are anxiously waiting for contact from their daughter who moved to Haiti two weeks ago. These are just a miniscule portion of the thousands of peope waiting to hear the fate of the people they love who fell to the earthquake. Nothing can give them their answer but time.



This would be such a devastating thing to experiance. I think about how freaked out my parents get when they think about me going to college and not knowing where I am all the time. I can't imagine how they would feel if I was in a different country and they didn't know whether i was dead or alive. The days must just drag on for these people as they sit and anxiously wait, praying that their family member or friend is alive! What cruel punishment time can be sometimes. I think that the best option for communication is going to be through TV cameras reporting from down there. Someone should start keeping track of the people who are alive and post the name list on a blog so that people are able to view it here. I just hope that people keep in mind that American's aren't the only ones who've been devasted by the earthquake. The people of Haiti have just experianced the loss of their homeland and they are going to need all the help they can get to clean it up and repair their country.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/14/haiti.communication.breakdown/index.html?iref=allsearch

Churches, groups worry about members missing in Haiti

About 45,000 American's were in Haiti during the time the earthquake hit. Many of which are missionaries from chruches in the U.S. Anxious parents and family members of loved ones in Haiti are waiting for contact from them. Many mission groups, along with college students make up the majority of the American population in Haiti at the time of the quake. A message from one of the churches websites reassured families that it is perfectly normal for there to be a two to three day lag after a major natural disaster such as this. As the death toll climbs, more bodies are being found both dead and alive. There are many survival stories of American missionaries being dug out of ruble they have been under for more than 10 hours. Two parents of children who were recoverd from ruble stated during a press conference that others need to focus on the people still missing more than the people being found. There are many more people buried underneath the ruble that our children to parents also.

As much as I care about American's being found and safe, I think it's a little strange that we're focusing on the American's in Haiti instead of the native people of Haiti who account for a much larger number. Sometimes I feel like American's think they are more important, or "more worth saving." The country of Haiti has been devastated and it is going to take a huge effort to clean it up. This effort has to come from other countries as well. Haiti is most definately not the richest country and without other's help, there is no way they are going to be able to restore their country.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/13/haiti.missing.americans/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Google reports China-based attack, says pullout possible

Google, the world's largest search engine, has reported that they may have to shut down their corporation in China. Google, along with 20 other companies, have been targeted in a highly planned out attack to try and gain access to email accounts of some human rights activists of the U.S. Europe and China. David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer for Google, reported that they do not believe that attackers achieved that goal. In China, due to law, Google has to censor their searches. With the added attacks Google no longer wants to put up with China. As a result, Google may have to shut down their offices in China. As of right now, Google is negotiating with the Chinese government to see if they can lift the censorship of their searches while still abiding to the law. If that is not possible, Google will remove itself from China.

It seems like people are finding more and more ways to access other's email, facebook, or any online account and I think it is slightly terrifying. There is so many ways someone could manipulate another by getting ahold of information in accounts like that. I think that people have to be more careful with passwords, online shopping and the information they put online because I don't think people realize how accessible to others it is. Reading this will make me think twice about putting information on the internet from now on.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/12/google.china/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

30 injured in Hong Kong acid attack

Last Saturday night, Hong Kong police arrested a man who they believe is responsible for the acid attack that occured that night at a popular tourist location. The man reportedly threw two bottles of corrosive acid on shoppers from a top a building. Thirty people were wounded. The man, who was in his thirties, was found on the roof of a building with two bottle caps in his pocket. There have been four previous acid attacks in recent months. The police suspect that this same man may be linked to these attacks as well. In the all of the attacks, large touristy areas near busy shopping districts have been targeted. The majority of the attacks involved the same method of throwing bottles of acid off of a rooftop similar to the most recent attack.

This incident makes me wonder if this man is targeting tourists or just people in general. It seems pretty strange that a man would perform this kind of destructive act without some type of motive. An attack by acid isn't too common, at least in America, and it sounds extremely painful. It could be concluded that this man has some personal mental issues. I hope that the police can figure out the motive and direction behind these attacks so no further victims are burned by acid.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/01/10/hong.kong.acid.attack/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

U.S., Britain close embassies in Yemen

Theats from al Qaeda just keep coming. Threats from the terrorist group on the Arabian Penninsula promted U.S. and Britain to close their embassies because the threat lead them to believe that an attack may be targeted there. The decision to close the embassy was made because it is very important to keep America's diplomats and citizens abroad safe according to John Brennan, an assistant to the president for homeland security. The U.S. is trying to work out the situation with the Yemeni government. Britain said they also closed their embassy for security reasons. The Nigerian man who tried to detonate an explosive on the flight from the Netherlands to Detroit was thought to be linked to an al Qaeda group based in Yemen which the al Qaeda group later claimed as true. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown enforced the fact that these youngh people have been radicalized and aren't thinking clearly. He stated that security measures of course will be strenghthened but, "we're fighting a battle for hearts and minds ehre as much as everything else." The al Qaeda group responsible for the potential bomb on the plane said they were merely retaliating for the airstrikes against them on Dec. 17th and Dec. 24th. These airstrikes were precaution for an alleged attack against the U.S. embassies in Yemen said a U.S. military official. Head of U.S. Central Command, David Petraeus spoke with the Yemen President last Saturday. The President expressed his gratitude towards the U.S. and thanked them for their help in the fight agains terrorism. He also said he would continue to support the U.S. and would continue to provide assitance in counterterrorism strikes. Also on Saturday President Obama reenforced his promise to "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat" al Qaeda. AbdulMutallab, the man who attempted a suicide bombing on Northwest Airlines on Christmas Day, was apparently trained by al Qaeda on the Arabian Penninsula. He was then strapped with explosives and given directions to bomb the plane. Brennan told CNN that al Qaeda is still a major threat even though the U.S. has succeeded in beating down its forces. They will continue to do everything they can to diminish al Qaeda's forces not only in Yemen but all over the Middle East.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/03/yemen.us.embassy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29


After reading this I'm starting to feel like this war against terrorism is getting to be too much for us to handle. We are no longer targeting one person or group. Organizations from all over the Middle East are targeting the U.S. and we have no idea who all of them are. I also think that we've been on our heels for a little bit and we are very lucky the explosives didn't work on AbdulMutallab on Christmas Day. Al Qaeda also said this response was in retaliation which makes me question the U.S.'s motives in the Middle East. It seems like a lot more bloodshed is taking place then necessary. Peace between all seems like a safer and more probably resolution to me at this point. Again, the question remains: where is the line drawn? The U.S. is trying to not only protect ourselves but help Middle Eastern countries settle arguments and create democratic governments. I feel like one of the main reasons these terrorist groups are targeting us is because they don't like us in their country and we are killing them as well. I do think it is very noble of the U.S. to try and help these third world countries on the other hand. We are definately putting ourselves at risk by doing so, so we are taking a chance to help others.

'Avatar' No. 1 again, surpasses $1 billion

"Avatar" held true to its high standards. The film grossed over $352.1 million over New Years weekend and Christmas weekend. All together, "Avatar" has passed the 1 billion dollar mark, the fastest grossing film in history. Most of it's income has come from IMAX theaters raking in 66.4 million dollars which is a record veiwing in these theaters. Other films also made a decent profit though it barely compares to Avatar's earnings. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" took in $157 million total follow by "Sherlock Holmes" which made 140 million dollars over the holidays. "It's Complicated" barely made a mark by collecting only$59.1 million overall while "The Blind Side" actually improved its weekly earnings going up 8% to total at $209.1 million as a total. "Up in the Air" made a measly 11.3 million over the break to total at $45 million while "The Princess and the Frog" made a weekly increase as well with 10 million dollars to add up to $25.6 million all together. The top ten box office earnings are up 70% from last year.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/03/boxoffice.avatar.ew/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

I think it is absolutely insane that this movie has already topped 1billion dollars. It will be interesting to see how much it will end up making overall. It probably helped that 3-D movie ticket prices are more expensive and the prefered way to view "Avatar" is in a 3-D theater. I personally haven't seen the movie yet but i better check out why all these people are lining up to watch this unbelievably successful film!

Boosting the Minimum

SUMMARY





Recently, the minimum wage any worker can recieve has been raised to $7.25 an hour from the previous $5.15 and hour which Congress passed in 2007. The minimum wage increase was included in a large Iraq spending bill which also included $4.8 billion dollars in tax cuts for small businesses. Those who support the increase in minimum wage argue that any person living on minimum wage should not be below the poverty line so the increase will help all who struggle with poverty who live on minimum wage salaries. Supporters also argue that since people have more money to spend, it will cause an economic boost which will outweigh the negative effects of the wage increase which include higher material costs to cover the higher salary those companies will be paying their workers. Finally, they make the point that although they support the wage increase, they don't necissarily support the tax cuts for businesses because they claim that these same businesses have already recieve an abundance of tax breaks. Opponents of the minimum wage increase also have many strong points in their argument. They say that minimum wage only affects a small percentage of the workforce because they majority of people working at minimum wage are teenagers who aren't fully supporting themselves. Opponents, contradictory to supporters, believe that instead of an economic boost, a slump will occur from the loss of jobs and raised prices from businesses who don't have enough money to pay their workers the increased wage. They also think that the laws of supply and demand should govern the minimum wage and suggest that a better way to reduce the number of people in poverty is to increase the EITC program which rewards people with jobs who recieve low income but also doesn't interfere with America's market-based economy which jobs keep rolling strong.





OPINION





Personally, I am a full supporter of minimum wage, and the tax cuts for small businesses. Last Spring, Summer, and Fall, I worked at Dairy Queen North. This is considered a small business and this one store was all the owners had. If they hadn't recieved tax breaks, I don't think they would have been able to keep all of the employees that they have right now while paying us on the increased minimum wage. I think that this is a similar situation for all small business owners. The reason why i support the minimum wage increase is because, even though we are teenagers, working long hours and recieving low pay doesn't even meet our demands of gas and other things (assuming that we don't work full time.) Onlookers also have to realize that although we are still technically "supported" by our parents, that doesn't mean that they provide more than a shelter for us. Many teenagers in America have to pay for much more, especially if they are living in a povertized home. As frustrating as it is to see people drop out of school, have kids when they aren't married, and fall below the poverty line, it happens every day in our society. People's choices affect all of us which is now apparent in this sliding economy. Someone chose not to go to college, they find a minimum wage job because they have few learned skills, fall below the poverty line, apply for medicare, welfare and food stamps, and drag our economy into a lower slump. Likewise, it works the opposite way as well. I think that a minimum wage increase will benefit these people working full time at minimum wage, and will therefore benefit the rest of the economy as well. Another person who supports the minimum wage increase is: George W. Bush.

Joe Wymore did his blog on "All Things Being Unequal" and Issue # 3:

Fox says 'Avatar' is costliest film it's ever made

Avatar, expected to release next month, is Fox's most expensisve film yet. Directed by James Cameron, the same director who directed Titanic, this movie is suspected to be worth the price. The final cost may add up to more than 300 million dollars to maket this film. James Gianopulos, co-chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, stated that the film is well worth the money so he wasn't too shook up about the cost. Cameron has quite a reputation for high budget films that result in high grossing films at the box office. He even won an Oscar for Titanic back in 1997. It is said that Cameron has had the idea for this movie in his mind for over 10 years and has just been waiting around for the technology to catch up to his storyline so that he could make the movie exactly the way he pictured it. Cameron even invented part of the technology a computer-generated image with live action. Gianopulos reasures by stating that films of this magnitude that attract such a large global audience, are typically more expensive because of the new technological advances they include. Avatar is also in 3D. Gianopulos says that the majority of the movies Fox will produce in the future will also be 3D and he predicts that movie theaters everywhere will begin to put more and more 3D screens into their theaters because eventually it will be the norm.

I think that this movie is going to just about meet Fox's expectations. I'm not quite sure if it will make tons of money just because the budget was so big. A lot of theaters still don't have 3D screens either so I don't think the movie will be as good on regular screens or appear as it's supposed to so not as many people will think it is as epic as the producers are expecting it to be. Video games are really popular these days though and this movie will definately attract those who are into the new technology, special effects and graphics of the movie. I think that I will go see it just to see if it measures up to the 300 million they spent making it.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/07/avatar.gianopulos/index.html?iref=allsearch

Comprehensive vs. Incremental Health Care Reform

There have been numerous proposals across the political spectrum for different plans of health care reform. All of these proposals, which differ mainly when considering the details, are usually split in to two categories. One group wants the see health care reform by incremental adjustments and the other would like to see universal coverage, ( in other words health care for all citizens of the U.S.) Supporters of the latter think that in order to ensure equal access for all citizens to medical care, the government needs to take control of the money side of the nation's health care system. These supporters suggest the Medicare and Medicaid are the top fire flamers to the increase in medical costs. These programs, they argue, have failed to support the unisured. Since the baby boom is starting to age, these programs will not be able to run much longer with their heads above the water. If health care was univeral, the federal government would become a single purchaser which would be able to force medical care providers to keep costs low. Another proposal concerning universal care would offer tax credits or money to the poor that would allow them to purchase the insurance that they need. Lastly, a hybrid systyem proposal would include government funded vouchers for insurance to all citizens but would also offer choices of upgrade which would allow competition to still play a role in the decision process of choosing the type of health insurance that a particular person might want. In this case, basic health insurance would be universal but everyone would be able to choose from a variety of plans and also purchase additonal coverage. Those opposing the idea of universal health care and promoting its change by incriments, don't oppose the idea of health care for all but they don't agree with the way the univeral health care plans achieve that goal. Their main argument concerns the decrease of competition between health care providers that would ultimately result in poor service. For example: long waiting periods for surgeries. They also argue that health care is a large and important part of the economy here in America and that government sponsored health care would cause thousands of medical industry workers and insurance workes without jobs. Although all these critics have done a lot more than oppose universal health care, they have made proposals for change as well. They propose that small changes such as enhancing Health Savings Accounts, offering tax deductions, and making consumers pay more of their health care insurance out of their pocket, will in turn reduce our debt and help reform health care. Basically, they would like to better inform consumers with the information on medical quality and costs. With these changes in place these policymakers believe that health care will naturally reform itself.

I definatley think that universal health care is the only way that this health care problem will completely be solved. Incremental adjustments may solve problems that present themselves in the near future, but in the long run, they won't be sufficient enough so save the country a large sum of money. Also, little changes will keep having to be made to keep up with the times, which will only elongate the reform of health care. Also, the proposal that consumers should pay greater shares of health care and medical expenses out of their pocket, supported by those whom oppose universal health, just doesn't make sense to me. Isn't that the problem in the first place? One of the main reasons that people aren't purchasing health insurance is because they don't want or have the money to pay for the inflated prices of these items, not to mention those whom are denied converage by companies because of preexisting health conditions. By requiring universal health care, insurance companies would have to keep their prices low because of restrictions set by the government. The only thing that I have to say to people that are concerned with the competition of the insurance companies suffering is that they should stop and think for a moment, about whether or not money or the saftey and concern for all human beings is more important. If the answer isn't the latter, theyhave some serious greed and selfishness issues. Although I think that universal heath care is the answer to this long drawn out battle against health care reform, I do realize that the health care industry is a large part of our economy and by having the government be a single purchaser could cause some problems. That's why I believe that the plan involving the hybrid system. This way, everyone would at least have basic coverage, but people who want or need more can purchase it from competing companies similar to how they purchase health insurance now. Another reason I think that universal health care is the answer is because Medicare and Medicaid have been driving America into debt. With the baby boom aging, these companies, especially Medicare, are not going to survive. There will be too many people who use Medicare with not enough people to pay taxes for it. I do think that another plan in addition to universal care has to be activated before these companies fall under or else doctors will not recieve the supplies they need and elderly people won't recieve the proper care they need. In conclusion, health care is a definate and serious problem. Our country is falling farther into debt with every second. I think that Obama is doing a good job trying to comprimise a universal health care plan with incremenatl changes. Of course not everyone is going to get what they want, but just like the Federalists and Anti-Federalits, if both sides of this argument give a little, then I think that a solid health care reform plan can be reached.

For further reading Kate's blog dicusses issue number three concerning food bourne illness and Erin Takle discusses issue number two: Ensuring Quality Care for Medicare Patients.

Missing baby was locked in chest for 12 hours

A mother reported a baby missing early Sunday morning. The baby was just found in a chest under her aunt's bed and she was reported to be in there for at least 12 hours. Both the aunt and the mother are being initially charged for this act. There isn't much information yet, futher details will be released once some things are cleared up. The incident happened near Chipley in Florida's panhandle near Alabama. The baby was recovered alive and is doing fine.

This baby was completely helpless. I'm not sure if the mother and aunt were trying to pull a publicity stunt or what, but things like this just aren't acceptable. Sometimes I think that people should have to have a license to have childrent. Children such as this little girl don't have a say in what happens to them and it isn't right for things like this to happen. Luckily the baby is alive and well.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/05/florida.baby.found/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

U.S. serviceman dies in shooting at Mexican strip club

Early this morning, there was a shooting in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in a strip club. Over 2000 murders have already been reported there this year. Six men were fatally wounded in this morning's shooting and another was injured. Two of the victims were identified as employees of the strip club and another was identified as U.S. citizen David Booher. Booher was stationed at Holloman Air Force base near Alamogordo, New Mexico. He was 26 years old. Booher was at the strip club even though these particular drug and violence related "border cities" are supposed to be off limits to U.S. military. Apparently all evidence leads to the gunman targeting his victims. These deaths were planned.



First of all, what was Booher doing at this strip club? That city is supposed to be off limits for U.S. military. Second of all, it makes me wonder what a member of the U.S. Airforce could have gotten caughten up in with the wrong people from Chihuhana. I think he slightly disgraced America. When news stories like this surface it only further proves that the military, along with our government has its flaws, which aren't very appealing to the public. Border patrol is a huge issue not only amoung politicians but citizens, and a U.S. Airforce member who is breaking the rules by entering a forbidden city, let alone going to a strip club, doesn't set a very good example of the improvements of border patrol for the citizens of America.



http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/04/mexico.us.airman.killed/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

7th person arrested in gang rape

This article confirms that the seventh person has been arrested in the gang rape that took place in an alley outside of a highschool campus is northern California. There has been approximately ten people that are up for charge for the rape. It appararently took place for 2+ hours and there were around ten bystanders that watched parts of the rape and didn't contact the police or a higher authority. The victim was brought to the hospital that night in critical condition and was released later the next day. The victim's parents urge viewers to channel their anger positively by finding ways to prevent further attacks similar to this one.


I honestly think there has to be something seriously wrong, not only with the kids that raped the girl, for whatever reason there is no justification, but also with the bystanders who just watched withough telling anyone! If there is a serious crime being committing, especially one that is happening for two hours, it should be reported at first sight no matter how much you dislike someone being victimized or how much you like someone committing the crime. I don't know how anyone could live with themselves knowing that they could have stopped something like this from happening.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/california.gang.rape/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Coroner says 6 women whose bodies were found at home died violently

On Saturday October 31st in Cleveland, Ohio, six women were found dead in Anthony Sowell's home. The police had issued a search warrant and arrest of Sowell's house after a victim had charged him of rape. Sowell was already a convicted sex offender who was in jail from 1990 to 2005. Five of the women's bodies were found inside in make shift graves, while another was found in a shallow grave outside the house. Sowell made his living by "scrapping." He would find peices of scrap metal and sell it to junkyards. The six women are still unidetified but have apparently been in the house for weeks, months or maybe even years. It appears that Sowell strangled the majority of his victims.


It shocks me that these women have been missing for this long and nothing was done about it before. These women might have been missing for years and the police didn't search for them? This seems a little bit odd to me. Another thing that upsets me about this article is how this guy has already been in jail before and was released. The majority of people that are convicted of rape have a problem. Honestly, I don't think that this problem just goes away. Obviously Sowell had some major mental issues and by releasing him from jail he killed six innocent women. Stories like this are tragic and what makes them even sadder is the fact that it could have been prevented.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/31/ohio.cleveland.bodies/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Police: UConn football player stabbed to death

The UConn cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed in the abdomen last Saturday Ocotber 17th. A fire alarm was pulled at about 12:26 PM during a student sponsored dance. Apparently a fight broke out between two groups of people around 12:33 and Howard and an unidentified body were both stabbed. Howard was air lifted to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. He was pronounced dead early Sunday morning. The football coach, Esdall, had to identify the body because all of his family lives in Florida. Howard was a father to be, a brother to all on his football team and a beloved son to his mom.

This is one of those stories that I hate even hearing about. I really don't understand what can drive someone to hate another so much that they would kill them. From the sounds of it Jasper didn't have a whole lot of enemies. A teammate of his Desi Cullen was actually in tears when describing his, and the whole football teams, relationship with Howard. His mom was also in tears while she tried to choke out what a good kid her son was. He was also a father to be. That is the saddest part I think. The fact that this little baby is going to be born into the world without a father is heart breaking. I really hope that the murderer is found and put away for his awful crime.




http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/18/connecticut.football.stabbing/index.html?eref=rss_topstories#cnnSTCVideo

Commentary: When Nobel Prize rewarded failure

Julian E. Zelizer, the author of this piece, discusses the comparison of Obama to Woodrow Wilson and when each of the presidents recieved the Nobel Peace Prize and what that indicated to the world. Wilson, who was the 28th president, recieved the Nobel Prize toward the end of his second term of presidency. Wilson recieved the award for his "campaign to gain ratification for the League of Nations" in 1919. Wilson, by this point was at the end of his ropes. The second term of his presidency was said the have been full of failures. The president had failed to convince the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, which was the agreement signed at the end of WWI, and he drug the U.S. into a bloody war when he in fact promised to keep them out of war during his second term campaign. In fact, Wilson wasn't even present to accept the award because he had just suffered from a stroke. Wilson didn't only take the Nobel Prize as an honor but said that he would use it to humble him into seeing all the work that still needed to be done. Obama, on the other hand, has recieved the Nobel Peace Prize at the beginning of his presidency. So instead of using it to look back on all his failures, he can use is as a motive to succeed and acheive the goals which he is pursuing.

I really like this article. Many people criticized Obama's win of the Nobel Prize, but this article didn't judge whether or not the President deserved the award, it just looked at it analytically. It showed how the Nobel Prize could be use for motivation instead of just being another trophy on the shelf of President Obama. That although he may or may not have deserved the award, he can definately show others how he will use the award to better the citizens of America. I not only hope that Obama will uphold the U.S. and turn this country around but I also hope that American's will realize that Obama won this award for a reason. That other people all around the world think that he is an amazing peace promoter and human being and I hope that all citizens, of any political parties, will work together to help him accomplish our countries goals.

For further reading on this topic Marit Aaseng's blog is an extension of my opinion.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/12/zelizer.nobel.wilson.failure/index.html

Spending What We Can Afford

In 2007 Congress passed a "pay as you go budgeting" systerm. It requires that any tax cuts or increases in entitlement spending be offset with reduced spending elswhere. People that support the "paygo" system say that it is necessary to show that Congress undedrstands that being in debt is not acceptable and needs to be contained. They argue that many citizens are concerned about the rising national debt and paygo rightly responds to their worries. They also advocate that this system will teach congress how to budget their money and only spend the money they have, as most businesses' and families already know how to do. Supporters also think that if Congress took the time to collect unpaid taxes, and eliminate wasteful spending, they could most likely raise most of the money needed to pay for new initiatives without increasing their debt. Finally, they argue that paygo can be stopped if necessary, such as in an extreme situation like a recession or crisis. On the other hand, opponents to the paygo system criticize that paygo is the wrong way to approach a budget deficit. They think that paygo will result in higher taxes to pay for the new programs instead of cutting back on the money. They say that budget deficits should be eliminated by economic growht rather than budget cuts and tax increases. Some of them also say that paygo would restrict Congress from responding to national emergencies. Finally, those who don't support the paygo plan argue that program cuts or tax increases will anger voters.

I agree with the paygo plan. It is logical and reasonable. I think it is rediculous that our country can spend money it doesn't have and increase our national debt. If we focused on making money instead of spending it for even a single year i think it would make a huge difference. Personally, I don't really understand how it is possible for us to spend all of this money that we don't have. Where is it coming from? If we had a paygo system, it would help stop the uncontrolled spending that Congress seems to do. Of course the downfall is if Congress decides to raise our taxes for funding for their programs instead of cutting back on spending. Honestly I'm not really sure this would happen considering that that's what would anger voters and the congressman most likely wouldn't be voted in for a next term. Representative Steny Hoyer, who is the majority leader for the House of Representatives, also supports the paygo system. He says, "agreeing to pay for what we buy is a decision to stop digging our hole any deeper, and that is a necessary start."

Randee O'Brien's blog discusses issue number 3: social insecurity and Steven Carlson discusses the cost of war in his blog.

Can Obama fit any more on his plate?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/29/obama.full.plate/index.html?eref=rss_politics

In this article Crowley goes over Obama's fall agenda. His to-do list includes: a trip to Copenhagen to try and get the 2016 Olympics to take place in Chicago, Illinois, health care reform, financial reform, Iran's nuclear ambitions, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and closing down Guantanamo Bay prison. Crowley also noted that during Obama's campaign he said that he was up for the job and that he could handle dealing with multiple issues at one time. The ending statement implies that he isn't staying true to his word.

This article slightly annoys me. It's not just that it is criticizing Obama like the rest of the media but the fact that we stand from a far and judge the President saying that he isn't getting anything done. What is he doing then? He is obviously not just lounging around on the couch watching TV all day. Health care reform is his number one priority right now. He is working diligently to change the way that system works in our country and no one can deny that. It's the fact that "we" (the people) are disagreeing, arguing and creating different bills and versions of bills that's taking so long. I don't think that we should look at the President and accuse him of not getting his agenda done. I think that we should look around, unite ourselves as a nation, and solve the problems that need to be fixed so that the President can stay true to his deadlines and move our nation forward into a better economy and society for ALL people.

Gov't made 70 percent of clunker payments

Basically, this article reinsured people that the car dealerships that participated in the "cash for clunkers" program are being reibursed. The government has already compensated for 70 percent of the dealerships and hopes to compensate for the rest by the end of September. They also said that there was no doubt that this program was a success because many auto dealerships were saved from bankruptcy. Including a GM dealership in a small town in MO saving hundreds of jobs. All in all the government and the auto dealerships were very pleased about the success of the "cash for clunkers" program.


I think that the cash for clunkers program was a really good idea to save jobs and get the economy moving again. The thing that i don't understand is where all this money is coming from. This country is in extreme debt and paying car dealerships money so people can get a discount on a new car isn't exactly helping the cause. It worries me a little that we are spending so much money and making so little. I am not really sure what the solution is. I think that as Americans we are a little spoiled. We import so many things and export a significantly lower amount than what we import. In other countries, such as Norway, they barely import anything. This also means that they have fewer choices of food, clothing etc. There is not 5 different types of sports drinks or hundreds of brands of clothes. They manufacture their own clothing and that is where their selection comes from. Back to cash for clunkers, weighing the pros and the cons, was it worth putting the govornment in more debt? Or did the economy pick up enough to cancel it out?


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32877454/ns/business-autos/