ISSUE #2: Boosting the Minimum

Background:

Some workers believe that because we are in a recession, many full time employees that receive minimum wage will be below the poverty line and will not be able to live. The workers think because of this they should raise minimum wage up from 5.15 and hour. They say it would bring them above the poverty line and singe mothers with families would once again be able to survive. The opposition to that view say that minimum wage increasing would only hurt businesses which would be forced to raise their prices more because we live in a Market-Based Economy, and over half the people that make minimum wage are teenagers anyway, so you would be infact helping nobody. The opposition also says that if they want to help low income families put more money into the Earned Income Tax Credit program.

Current:

I belive that this is an old issue seeing as the article talked about miniumum wage being at 5.15 and considering raising it to 7.25. Well, they did it, and does it matter to me...no, i have three jobs and all of them make more than that an hour anyway so it probably did help nobody to increase minimum wage, but hurt businesses instead.

Supporting argument - Robert Paturzo-Elliott

Issue #1

Issue #3

U.S.-bound oil tanker hijacked off Somalia

The M/V Maran Centaurus was commandeered about 600 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles, on its way to New Orleans, Louisiana, according to the Maritime Security Center.
The crew consists of 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and a Romanian, said the security agency, which is run by the European naval force.The 300,000-ton tanker, which started out from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was seized Sunday. It had changed course westward, toward Harardhere or Hobyo, along Somali's central-western coast.Somali pirates have turned high-seas kidnappings into a lucrative business.Pirates have captured more than 50 ships this year off Somalia and are currently holding 12.

Wow, get a real job.... the pirates are lucky im not in charge or they would all be shot instantly, i dont have time for nonsence like this. Get a real job pirates. In other news vikings trapped the bears to a 36-10 victory. AP just isnt on his game anymore though, ill let it slide because he was sick this week, but i better be seeing some 50 yard TD runs in a hurry. wow that subject changed in a hurry, oh well, nobody cares about modern day pirates.

ISSUE #1 -Comprehensive vs. Incremental Health Care Reform

Supporters of Universal health care want the government to run the health care system in the United States. They think that the Government can keep the costs low and keep the quality height for people who need care the most in the US. They also think this would add to the benefits of Medicare and Medicaid. The opposing side argues that the heath care market is best run by independent companies, as it is now. This competition will keep the market prices down and keep the quality up. The opposition also argues that since there are so many jobs connected to the current health care system that thousands upon thousands of people will go jobless and that will be bad for the economy.

I think that we should keep the health care system the way it is as of now. The independent companies in my opining do a good enough job keeping the quality of health care up and the costs down. At least in my small town of Alexandria MN. With the United States just reaching 10.2% unemployment, the highest unemployment percent in 22 years, I do not think that we need to terminate more jobs in the US, and that we can keep the system the way it has been forever. If it has worked for the last 100 years, why wouldn't it work now?

Person With my Opinion - Tim Pawlenty, MN Governor

Issue #2

Issue #3

Iraqi parliament passes key voting law

Iraq's parliament on Sunday passed a long-awaited election law that the government said will allow national elections to take place in January.Officials had hoped to hold elections January 16, but Iraq's election commission said Sunday the elections will take place later than that -- but before January 31, the constitutional deadline.Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, in a statement, called it "a historic victory of the will of the Iraqi people" and a "strong response against the terrorists and the former regime members who are trying to undermine security and undermine the political process and return the country to the dark ages, injustice, tyranny and discrimination."

This is good for Iraq, I'm glad to see that they are sort of getting their democracy in order so we can get our troops out of there and maybe move some of them into Aphghanistan so we can finish that war without having a draft, then maybe have 30 years of peace in the world (hahaha). Oh well I can dream can't I?\

Article - http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/08/iraq.election.law/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

What Americans owe to those who serve

Bob Greene was thinking about Halloween and how you dress up in costumes and then he started to think about how on Veterans day they dress up in uniform, but not for a silly purpose, but for a very serious one. He talks about how soldiers forced to quit their schooling and job and leave their family that they loved to start a new life and save their country. He asks that on this Veterans day we take extra special time to genuinely thank the solders who put their futures in jeopardy to save us.

I think this is a great idea. I would never want to be drafted into a war, and obviously nobody does, but sombody has to be and those who were drafted into Vietnam had their lives ripped away from them. When thinking about this it makes you feel very greatful that they went and makes you want to thank them. But it's not like they had a choice, so its like thank you for being chosen instead of me. For those that Chose to go fight, then there is a genuine thank you extended.

Dead wrong: Man attends own funeral after mix-up over body's ID

On the holiday known as the Day of the Dead, a Brazilian bricklayer walked into his own funeral.The sight of Ademir Jorge Goncalves alive shocked relatives, some of whom tried to jump out of the windows of the funeral home in southern Brazil.On November 1, some family members and friends had identified the victim of a car crash as the 59-year-old Goncalves. It turns out that it was a man that was missing from a nearby village and he was truly identified later that day.

First of all HAHAHAHAHA!!! This is hilarious. How could a family possibly think that this was part of their family and be wrong? And to see the man walk into his own funeral must have been highly confusing and scary for everyone that was there, but super funny to everyone else in the world, i bet that familys happy that this man didn't die (or maybe not seeing as they didnt even know what he looked like haha), oh well.

Ida kills 91 in El Salvador, heads for U.S. Gulf Coast

Flooding and mudslides triggered by Hurricane Ida's torrential rainfall have killed at least 91 people in El Salvador, and the death toll is expected to rise. As the storm -- which regained hurricane intensity overnight -- headed through the Yucatan Channel and into the Gulf of Mexico, a hurricane watch was issued Sunday for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Ida also drenched Nicaragua after making landfall last week as a Category 1 hurricane, then weakened to a tropical storm.

I thought hurricane season was over, but i guess i don't really know seeing as I've never had to deal with them living in Minnesota. Oh well hurricanes are scary things, good thing this one was weakened to a tropical storm, because the last thing we need is another Katrina. But Hurricane Katrina was considered a good thing from the economic perspective, so maybe it would help our economy, oh well it still wouldn't be worth it. p.s. I like living in Minnesota!

Article - http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/weather/11/08/tropical.storm.ida/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Yankees

The New York Yankees win their 27th World Series title with a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Matsui won the MVP award--in game 6 alone, Matsui drove in six runs.

I agree with Jordan's opinion of this. The Yankees are the worst team in the universe and they shouldn't have been allowed to win the world series.

Jordan's article - http://weaverbeaverblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/yankees-win-27th-world-series-title.html

News Article - http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1105/p02s10-usgn.html

Meteorite - like Object Falls in Latvia

A meteorite has created a crater after landing near a farm in northern Latvia. The object fell Sunday in Mazsalaca, leaving a hole of about 65 feet wide and 32 feet deep, Latvian emergency officials reported. A fire was reported in the grassy area where it landed, but there were no known injuries. Scientists and armed forces from the northern European nation will inspect the crater and conduct an investigation.

This is cool, the picture of the hole looks awsome. I think it would be great to see a meterorite fall out of the sky and land in a feild. As long as it doesn't land on a house or something. Check out this sweet picture of the hole!

ISSUE #2 -Spending What We Can Afford

Due to the ridicules amount of debt our nation has, Congress passed a pay-as-you-go budgeting system in 2007. This rule, also known as "paygo," requires that nay tax cuts or increases in entitlement spending be offest with spending reductions elsewhere.

Proponents say it is a good measure to limit deficits and show that Congress knows that too. They also say that it will hold Congress to the standards that most business and families already apply to, where you can't spend what you don't have. The final argument for paygo is that it can be suspended if needed, such as in a time of crisis. Opponents to paygo claim that it will only cause higher taxes for new programs that will hurt the economy. They believe that the national debt should be reduced by economic growth rather than budget cuts or tax hikes. They also believe that in case of emergency, paygo will hinder Congress' response and action.

Although paygo sounds like a good idea theoretically, it doesn't quite work that well in the real world. Sometimes in order to get out of debt you have to get more into debt first. Sure we are already trillions into debt, but now we have to really try to get out, and paygo will only keep us on the downward spiral. The solution is in economic growth and research to spur forward momentum in our economy. Paygo would make major reforms like Social Security Privatization a non-starter. You have to remember that that budget deficits, particularly the ones we're running now at low rates of interest, are not the problem. They aren't because with dollars being fungible, it doesn't matter where the dollars come from. Government spending is government spending. That is why I'm opposed to the "paygo" plan.

Supporting article from John Tamny - http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/03/paygo-congress-budget-reform-opinions-columnists-obama-social-security.html

War Dollars - by John Schwegel
Social Security - by Alexa Goetsch

Guantanamo: Closing Time - Colin's SSII Blog

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the press on Sunday, September 27th that it would be tough to be able to close the Military Prison of Guantanamo Bay. He talked about there being problems with time. Letting the U.S. citizens know that January 2010 is going to be an almost impossible deadline to make. This is going to rub off on President Obama since he was the one who ordered this to be done. Some Republicans are saying that there's nothing with Guantanamo Prison and the prisoners that are there should just be left there.
After reading Colin's blog I'm going to agree with him completely. There is nothing wrong with keeping prisoners in Guantanamo Prison. They deserve to be in prison and it shouldn't matter where as long as the conditions are acceptable. The whole idea of moving the prisoners just because there were questionable practices going on doesn't make sense. Just change the practices of the prison and then you don't have to waste a ton of money on moving a bunch of prisoners for no reason whatsoever.

Colin's blog - http://ss2blogcolin.blogspot.com/2009/09/guantanamo-closing-time.html
CNN article - http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/27/cuba.guantanamo.closure/index.html?eref=rss_politics

Commentary: Real progress on climate change

More than 100 world leaders gathered at the United Nations for a meeting about climate change. They were called together by General Ban Ki-moon to build momentum for the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December. There were no breakthroughs in the arguments however, as well as no agreements made to try and cut back on emissions. But Timothy Wirth thinks that the talks have already started to have an impact. Although no international agreements have been made yet, and will most likely not be for quite a while, some nations have already made national goals to cut down on emissions to try and stop climate change.

I think that this is very good for everyone. Some nations like japan say they will be able to cut back on emissions by 2020, and many others will follow. Like everything in human nature, i believe that this will turn into a competition to see on who can become the greenest nation the quickest. However, the always leading and innovative US may fall behind on this race because other things have taken a front seat in current goals for our country such as health care and getting out of debt. Aside from that however, i believe the meetings in Copenhagen are very beneficial to the world, because the goals are to cut back on emissions and foresting, and increase green energy. Probably the most exciting thing for us is that the "go green" effect will most likely boost the global economy and help carry us out of debt.

Thousands pack D.C. to protest spending, taxes

This Saturday September 12th at the capitol tens of thousands of people gathered at the capitol in D.C. to protest government spending,taxes, as well as Obama's healthcare plan. Some examples of signs they had at the protest are "Obamacare makes me sick," and "I'm not your ATM." The protesters also included some chanting in their protest which included "enough, enough," "We the People," "You lie!" and "Pelosi has to go!"

I think that fellow Americans are right to protest the outrageous amount of government spending that is happening right now with the new healthcare plan in place. However I personally have never been a fan of protesting out on the street because it seems to me to be a giant waste of everyone's time that could otherwise be spent doing something that is actually useful. That being said, our country is in a never ending amout of debt and that needs to stop. Programs like Obamacare are the reason our country is in this much debt and that number will keep increasing as it has until we fall apart, unless we stop the nonsence, and focusing on reducing spending.