Cartoon #4

I read a cartoon by Joe Heller posted in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on 12/19/2009. It was about poverty/healthcare reform. It showed a couple, the guy looking at a movie poster for Avatar, and the woman looking at a homeless family freezing and holding up signs. The woman says "What were you saying about wanting to see skinny, blue people fighting for their lives?" I thought this commented on two things: lack of health care/homelessness and how most people are too absorbed in their own lives to notice those things around them. I agree with this cartoon in that I think we need a system to help people who are jobless and homeless. I also think that a system would be put in place faster if more ordinary citizens really supported it. Most people think it's a nice idea, but when it comes down to it, who really wants to give up giving presents to pay for the wellfare of some homeless stranger?

Question #4

I love Thanksgiving because there is all the food and family without the stress of getting/giving presents and the year being about to end. My whole family and cousins help to cook our big meal together. We all get crammed into someone's kitchen and "help" everyone else a little too much. Somehow, everything still always tastes great.

Question #3

I think that displaying religious symbols is good. All the symbols that I see around the winter holidays are about love, forgiveness, peace, etc. Even if people express their devotion to these principles in different ways, they can still be coexistent.

Cartoon #3

I read a cartoon by Nate Beeler for the Washington Examiner, posted on 12/11/09. It depicts the Health Care bill as a tangled ball of Christmas lights as tall as a person. There are two donkeys looking at it disheartenedly, and one of them says "I'm inclined to say we should just plug it in and break out the eggnog." I guess this is supposed to mean that that the Health Care bill is a big mess right now, and it will take a lot of work to clean up. Also, there is a big deal about getting it done before the new year, which means before this session of Congress ends. If that is going to happen, then a lot of work needs to be done. It may seem impossible, but what I got out of the cartoon is that making the Health Care bill something manageable can be done, just like untangling Cristmas lights.

Question #2

Health Care Reform has been passed in the House. Last weekend the Senate voted to bring their own health care bill to the discussion, with the Democrats voting yes and Republicans voting no. The Senate bill will be revised, because a lot of Democrats only voted to discuss it to change it. If or when the new health care bill is passed, the House and Senate will compile a single health care bill from the first two.  I think that universal health care is idealistic and will require a lot of effort from influential people in both parties.  

Cartoon #2

Pat Bagley drew a cartoon (published in Salt Lake Tribune; posted on 11/25) of Obama literally pregnant with plans for the Afghan war. Obama is saying "Some things just can't be rushed", and a soldier standing next to him asks him to try. The cartoon is about how long it is taking Obama to come up with a plan in the Afghan war. He has been promising to change either by removing troops or increasing the number of troops, but it is taking a long time for him to make up his mind. I think decisions that involve people's lives should be made with caution, but the soldiers in Afghanistan and their families are waiting for a decision. He can't put off this tough decision forever.

Question #1

I think a good principal for Herndon would be caring towards the students. I liked how the interim principal would get on the loudspeaker and announce what awards people had won. When the students feel isolated from the principal and like he doesn't care, they are more likely to do bad things. The principal should not feel fake. Putting up posters around the school saying that failure is not allowed is a waste of money. However, visiting classes and being seen in the halls, and maybe even talking to the students, is much more encouraging. The principal also needs to be hardworking to complete all the behind-the-scenes admin stuff. They need to be able to do a good job with little to no thanks from the students.

Cartoon #1

I looked at a cartoon by Parker called "Ourterspace Sourcing" and published in Florida Today on 11/20/09. It dealt with NASA partnering with the Chinese. Its message was that the reason NASA would do that is because the Chinese space program is better funded. I think that the government should give NASA more money for research, but right now they also have other things to spend money on.

Personal Response

I read about the elections taking place in Afghanistan. There are two guys, Karzai and Abdullah, who were going to run for president of Afghanistan. This election was supposed to get more faith in the government, because the last election, in which Karzai had been elected, was corrupt. However, Abdullah dropped out of the election because the election committee had been appointed by Karzai himself. Now there is only one candidate, but the Afghan government will still be holding an election.

All this makes me extremely grateful that in America we can trust our government to put the person who we elect into power. There is so much information made open to the public that I trust the US government not to lie to the people. Because there is only one candidate, the election in Afghanistan is not a real election. How can the Afghans not elect Karzai?

Current Event #6

I read a Washington Times article about the economy, titled "Obama: Fresh Signs of Economic Growth". It had lots of quotes like "Positive news today does not mean there won't be difficult days ahead." The economy has improved for the first time in years. However, unemployment is still rising, now at 9.8%. If there is high unemployment, then there is low consumer spending. This means that even after billions have been spent on stimulating the economy, when the government programs end, the economy might go back down. Still, we need a good economy to open up new jobs.
This is why all the successful politicians have been concentrating on employment in their policy. In addition to being the thing most important to voters, employment will help get the economy back on its feet.

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  National

  Some getting flu shots not high-rObama: Fresh signs of economic growth. It had a lot of quotes from Obama about not being overconfidant that the economy is improving. The economy is improving for the first time in years. However, unemployment is still rising, now at 9.8 %. If high unemployment continues, then the economy will still be unstable after the government programs run out, because there will be low consumer spending.
  

Current Event #5

I read the article "Families say flu scare comes with a dose of craziness". It was about the effects of H1N1 on people in northern VA. We all know that many people are not coming to school because they are sick. Some teachers are putting off assignments or lessons because so many people are absent. There are other people who overreact to a virus and panic, wearing face masks and gloves and barricading themselves away. Obama declared H1N1 a national emergency. It may be an emergency, but there is nothing we can do to stop it. You can't fight a disease the way you can fight terrorists in Afghanistan. Germs will get people sick, and that is sad, but no amount of hand sanitizer will stop it. If everyone panics, nothing good will come of it. We should just be grateful that in the US there are vaccines and good health care.

Handicap Governor's Race

McDonnel will win because Deeds has not ran a good campaign. Deeds attacked McDonnel's conservative policy and did not gain support from some famous democrats in Virginia, even though Obama supports him. Virginia is still mostly a Conservative state, it just voted Democrat recently because it wanted a change. Talk about raising taxes, however, and Virginia goes back to being conservative.

Biggest Political Issue Facing VA

One of the biggest issues in Virginia is education. Should religion be aloud in schools? Should the state lower class size and require more teachers and guidance councilors, or leave it up to the individual schools? That question is more about how far to take state power than the actual issue. In general, I favor legislation that protects(like lowering the class size) over legislation that just pushes individuals around(like requiring/banning religion in schools).

Current Event #4

I read the Washington Post article "Baucus predicts all Senate Dems will support health bill". It said that the Congress is slowly putting together bills that have a chance of succeeding in debate and will potentially cost around 900 billion dollars(the target cost). This sounds very bureaucratic because the process takes so long. However, Obama still wants to have a Law made by the end of the year. It remains to be seen exactly how hard these proposed bills will hit the private insurance companies. Some want "revenge" on the private insurance companies for charging so much. The current proposal is supported by both all the Democrats and some Republicans, notably the Senator from Maine.

I like that health care is now not only supported by the Democrats, who made the proposal, but is also gaining Republican support. That really makes me think that when the bill does get made into a law, it will actually work, since it is not just pushed through by one party.

I think Obama's optimism with the deadline of reforming healthcare within his first year in office is ambitious, which is great. I hope a bill makes it through the long bureaucratic process before the end of the year.

Current Event #3

I read the article "Partial Patriot Act Extension Is Approved by Senate Panel" from the Washington Post. It discussed how the Patriot Act is being amended and how both Democrats and Republicans are disapointed. The bill will allow the FBI more technology to track suspected terrorists, but the FBI will have to do more to obtain phone records , etc. The Democrats are upset because of the invasion of privacy, and the Republicans are upset about the burdens on the FBI.

I personally have nothing to hide, so I'm not really affected by this bill. However, a government should not intrude on its people's lives. The FBI should learn to find terrorists without infringing civil liberties, or else they will be hypocrites. The people have a right to privacy.

Obama Report Card

Health Care-C
The republicans do not support the current bill in the House, although some republican Senators support the idea of health care. The predicted cost of one of the Senate's proposed plans is going to decrease the federal deficit, but republicans are still not in favor of it. The Congress needs to make health care more acceptable to conservatives.
Economy-B
All of the federal bailouts look like they helped the economy.
War on Terror-D
It is not Obama's fault that the situation in Afghanistan is bad. He inherited a bad situation. However, he now needs to do something about it. I hope he will not send more troops.

Current Event #2

I read another article about "being green". (that always makes me think of Kermit) It was about how being environmentally conscientious is not all about buying solar panels, re-insulating your house, or buying those crazy-expensive hybrid cars. The main things you need to keep in mind is to "reduce, reuse, recycle". Reducing the amount of things you use is the most efficient; you can turn off the lights when you're not in he room to reduce the electricity you use. Reusing is the next most efficient; all you need to do is take your lunch in a lunch box instead of a paper bag. Recycling is the least efficient way to be green, and everyone knows about that. Some other examples from the article I read were to turn the thermostat down a few degrees, ride your bicycle, buy an efficient shower head, and use cheap cleaners(baking soda, rubbing alcohol) for cleaning windows or counters.

It is kind of surprising to me that people need to keep being reminded that the things we use everyday come from our environment. Paper does come from trees, and electricity comes from those ugly buildings that give off smoke from burning coal. Conserving the world's resources is something to consider every day. Now that our government is aware of that, it is becoming easier to do. I think that it is one of the governments responsibilities to take care of the environment, just like repairing highways and giving money to schools.

Political Issue I am Interested in

I am interested in health care. I think it should be available to everyone. We pay lots of taxes. More of that money should be used to improve the health care system. People who work for small businesses or are unemployed should not live in fear of getting sick because they couldn't pay for the hospital bill. You can say that people should be responsible enough to set aside money in case they get hurt, but for some that is not an option. The children of those people need decent health care. We don't live in a third world country, so there really is no excuse for this. I am interested in this because I want to help the people in that situation.

Political Party

I consider myself more aligned with the Democrat's principles than the Republican's. I believe that the government's job is to help the people by taxing them and using that money to improve the country. That money should go to wherever it is needed, even if most of it does not go to my own community. Homes for the homeless, Social Security, health care, roads, and schools are some of the things the government should take an active role in. Reducing the government is not the way to solve all of our problems.

Current Event #1

The United Nations(UN) found a hidden nuclear plant that they think Iran wanted to use for building weapons. Iran claims that the plant is being used for nuclear power. Iran has built secret nuclear plants in the past, which is why the UN is suspicious. However, Iran's President Ahmadinejad was not technically breaking the UN's rules(yet). The the UN does not need to be informed of a nuclear site until 180 days before the actual nuclear material is brought there, and Ahmadinejad can say that was the case. He did officially notify the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran has a new nuclear facility after Iran found out that their plant was no longer secret. Obama has stated that Ira is defying the IAEA. There will be a conference in Geneva on Oct 1 for the UN to talk to Iran about world security.
I think that the UN is trying to establish their own authority. The counties in the UN(US, UK, Russia, China, France, and Germany) who are going to conference with Iran will probably put restrictions on Iran's nuclear future. This is good because no one wants nuclear weapons to be used, but bad for Iran if they actually wanted to build nuclear power plants.

link to news article