Standard of Living: according to Gallup.

Gallup: Standard of Living perception

Aside from the actual facts that the standard of living may be dropping for many people in America, we cannot forget to consult Americans on what they feel their standard of living is. Around 2008 when the financial crisis began, the housing market was   just starting, Americans felt their standard of living as deteriorating and rapidly decreasing. Ever since the opinion on standard of living has been low, until recently when the opinion has risen to a point where 45% say the situation is getting better and only 35% say the situation is deteriorating. Opinion isn't all that is going up, the facts are actually showing as well. The actual standard of living assessments of the middle class are rising rapidly for all of the incomes of middle class people ranging 24000 to 90000+!

This is certainly excellent news for america and most specifically the middle class. The middle class has seen significant standard of living rises as of recent to levels that were not seen since Bush. The polls and the numbers reflect each other, as the polls show Americans more optimistic and the numbers look just as optimistic. I am certainly feeling better and have personally noticed that a few more Americans are getting jobs and a few more people are gaining more happiness in the American system. The unemployment rate has gone down, and since standard of living is heavily affected by unemployment, the numbers will only get better as employment does.

Michael Hoover: Republicans abandon Gay Marriage issue

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74661.html

Once a vital issue for Republicans, Gay Marriage has been all but forgotten by the current nominees. Some analysts believe that indifference is the main reason. Others point to the variety of other pressing issues surrounding the upcoming presidential election. Furthermore, some say that Republicans are doing this simply because they want to appeal to moderate voters and Libertarians.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad that the Republicans have dropped the anti-Gay thing. Hopefully this extends to policy and not just rhetoric. I am mostly Right-wing myself, but I hesitate to call myself a Republican. If this trend continues, I will identify better with the American Right.

Global Health Alert Over Antibiotics Misuse

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/global-health-alert-over-antibiotics-misuse-161312158.html

the article discusses how were approaching a post-antibiotic era, which is describe as no less then the clapse of modern medicen. the day we can no longer use antibiotics many medical procedures will become unperformable. " "Among the world's 12 million cases of tuberculosis in 2010, WHO estimates that 650,000 involved multidrug-resistant TB strains." " this is talked about even further saying that even with the best of care, only a little more then 50% of these patients will survive.


i think this article does a good job describing the problems with over use of antibiotics. it also does a great job putting into perspective just how bad the problem could be and is. im also concerned with the idea that room for invention of new antibiotics is very limited.

Trayvon's death: Echos of Emmett Till: Modern Racism

http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/24/trayvons-death-echoes-of-emmett-till/

In 1955, African-American teenager Emmett Till was killed by white men in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman. Fifty-seven years later, 2012, Trayvon Martin was killed by a white, Hispanic, neighbour hood watchman. The press surrounding Trayvon's case is leading him to become our century's Emmett Till. Mark Naison, a professor of African-American studies and history at Fordham University in New York has compared the two cases and has said that both were killed because they broke "unwritten rules" of their time. Trayvon's death has sparked debates over how much racism has really been eradicated from our society. Some have even said that some are no better off than they were in the twentieth century. Another striking similarity in their case is the lack of action by the law enforcement involved.

As much as I hate to say it, the author of this article was not entirely wrong when he said that racism today is almost as bad as it was in the fifties and sixties. Though things have changed, there is not denying that, we can look back in our recent history and see that racism is still alive and well in our society. Look at the man in Mississippi from my last post. A group of teenage boys beat him and then ran him over with a truck because they believed he deserved it because he was African-American. As much as people try to deny the fact that racism does not exist, it does. And Trayvon's case has made many rethink how safe it really is in our society.

Gingrich Cuts Staff to Focus on Convention

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/us/politics/newt-gingrich-cutting-staff-to-shift-focus-to-convention.html?_r=1&ref=politics

     According to the New York Times, Republican nominee Newt Gingrich is cutting much of his campaign staff as of March 27th. After acknowledging that it is impossible for him to clinch enough delegates to win the nomination before the Republican Convention is held in Florida, the Gingrich campaign is reportedly cutting up to 1/3 of its current staff. Communications director, Joe DeSantis said that this decision will focus and prepare Newt Gingrich to win the official GOP nomination in the upcoming "tossup period." The Republican candidate states that he will look for bold and contrasting ideas and policies that provide a stark contrast to the decisions made by the Obama administration.
     Personally, I am so thankful that Newt Gingrich is cutting his campaign back. Thus far, he has only served to pilfer delegate votes from other candidates and cause destractions in a very important Republican political race. Honestly, I cannot see any possible way that Gingrich could win the nomination at the Republican convention. Hopefully, this decision is an indicator that he will soon drop out intirely. We can only hope.

NGR Settlement Funds California's "Electric Expressway 'Ev Charger Network

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/NRG-Settlement-Funds-Californias-Electric-Expressway-EV-Charger-Network/

This article is about how the California Public Utilities Commission is going to spend $120 million to put in chargers for electric cars. These chargers will be built by NGR Energy Inc. This is a big and first step for the charging industry. So then they so exactly what money is going to be used for what during this long process. They hope for the area to be based on this infrastructure by at least 2015, with the area being able to support one million zero emission cars by 2020.

I think this will be a big change in a good direction for that area. The only thing i'm worried about is that not that many people will take to the new zero emission cars as much as they think. Because if they don't then it would be a waste of money. Although it is was better for the environment because these cars don't burn fossil fuels that get into our environment, thus speeding up global warming. So I do hope these cars are well liked so that we car try to slow down the effects of global warming.

North Korea Refuses to Halt Launch Plan Despite Obama's Warnings

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/world/asia/korea-nuclear-summit/index.html?iref=allsearch

Article:

North Korea has refused to stop from launch plans of a satellite into space and testing ballistic missles. North Korea moved there satellite into launch position earlier this week. Obama and his administration has warned North Korea about the consequences about continuing there tests. Some consequences of continuing there test include more sanctions and possible retaliation from South Korea or Japan. North Korea claims that it is testing these systems to improve there understanding of teachnology and that it is a legal. South Korea and Japan have also said that they will track North Korean tests of the satellite and ballistic missle. With the leadership change earlier in the year, some inside the Obama administration believe that this is a very unstable time for the Korean Peninsula, and that these test launches could destablize the region.

Reaction:

North Korea is treading in some dangerous waters right now. With them announcing the that they will not hault the launch of there two test rockets, South Korea and Japan are becoming very nervous and have threatened to retaliate if anything sould happen. North Korea should not be doing these test right now, they are just making the rest of the world nervous. The United States says it does not have any hostilities toward North Korea, but I sometimes believe that we do. We exchange food supplies for North Korea to stop there nuclear program. They always start it back up once they get the food. Why do we help them if they do not keep there word?

Alex Pohlmann: Jason Russell's Breakdown

The Kony 2012 Campaign video has been all over the internet, social media sites, and TV. Co-creator and narrator of the video Jason Russell has been talked about and scrutinized just as much as the video. Has all the publicity of the video and of Jason got to his head? Many believe so and it didn't help that he was arrested on March 15 for public masturbation and vandalizing cars in San Diego, California. Speculation is that Jason was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which was claimed not to be true by Jason's wife, Danica. Danica also released a statement that said the diagnosis was reactive psychosis, an acute state brought on by extreme exhaustion, stress, and dehydration and according to the doctors, Jason's overnight celebrity led to the breakdown. Danica believes Jason will remained hospitalized for at least a few weeks and he will make a full recovery.

I agree with exactly what the doctors stated, that Jason becoming and overnight celebrity got to his head. I also believe that Jason took all the negative talk about the video and the antics of the Invisible Children Inc. to a personal level since he was so involved in the process. I don't think Jason was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol like it was stated by his wife. The one thing I do wonder is why the other creators Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey haven't done anything like Jason because they were just as important in the creation of the charity and movie. I hope when Jason has been released from the hospital and has recovered that he will have a press conference and apologize for his actions while also trying to shift everyone's mind from this instance back to being focused on finding and stopping Joseph Kony.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20580362,00.html

America's economic crisis ignored on campaign trail

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/26/opinion/zelizer-economic-crisis/index.html

There are little signs that the economy condition is getting better. Most of the political debate has been centered on how the nation will rebuild from then 2007 - 2009 recession. With all of the attention that has been given to the short-term economy recovery, both democrats and republicans have avoided the long-term challenges that are greatly threatening the United States ability to compete with other rising economic powers such as India and China. As the rising level of inequality haunts the US, the gap between the rich and the poor has been growing dramatically over the past 30 years. The number of Americans that are ranked in the middle class have thinned and many people believe it will continue to in the future.

Right now, I don't think the economy is going to be getting better any time soon. Everyone is afraid to think about long-term goals because no one is willing to take that chance to sacrifice a little now to gain a lot later. Maybe once and if things do turn around, maybe people will think about taking that chance but they must know the challenge that they are going to take on. The U.S economy just doesn't seem to be getting any better, and while this is happening India and China are quickly becoming huge economical powers. I believe in the future the American people will have to make a huge decision before it's to late to turn back.

Juvenile Life Without Parole- Justice System Issues

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-juvenile-without-parole-20120323,0,4213885.story

Seven years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that offenders younger than 18 couldn't be sentenced to death, arguing that juveniles are generally less culpable than adults because they are less mature, more impulsive and more susceptible to peer pressure. By the same  logic, the court should hold that sentencing young murderers to life without parole is cruel and unusual punishment. Some cases that support this argument are those of 14 year old Evan Miller and Kuntrell Jackson. Miller was sentenced to life without parole for being pressured to attack and rob a neighbor and set fire to his house with an older friend, causing the victim's death.Meanwhile, Jackson and two older friends tried to rob a video store and a clerk was shot to death. Even though he didn't pull the trigger and was unaware of his friends being armed, Jackson convicted of a felony murder and sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. 


I believe that sentencing a child as young as 14 to prison for life without any chance of parole is becoming close to cruel and unusual punishment. There is such a fine line between ruling a case of a juvenile as an adult. Teens have scientifically been proven to show that they are more likely to act out on impulse more that that of a person in their older ages. Teen are also more susceptible to peer pressure and immaturity. Currently there are over 2,000 people in prison who were sentenced as children to life with out parole. a significant amount of those inmates have become completely different people and in my opinion deserve a right to a free life for something that they did on impulse as a child. 

Fake Witch Doctors

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8441813.stm

Basically this article goes over what is currently going on, and has been going on in Uganda. They begin with interviewing an old fake witch doctor who lead them to a shrine when most of the rituals took place. They deny any direct involvement with any of the murder's but have discussed about them being payed money for any "type" of rituals, but most of that money went to their head boss.

It then goes on talking more in-depth about the rituals. The government of Uganda has stated that the number of sacrifices are increasing. The article begins to describe reasons why people would do the rituals, like for wealth or blessings. Then they get really up-close and personal in the interview when the witch doctor begins to describe what happens during a ritual. He tells the horror story's of taking the hearts and blood of the children and placing it within a small tins and leaving it under a tree for the spirits to come accept it.

Then they interview the government to get their view of whats going on. They tell of how human sacrifice is the most common illegal thing today, and how it keeps increasing. They also tell about all the cases they keep being reported, and most if not all have linked to child sacrifices.

As the article continues on, they finally were able to interview a former witch doctor that now works as a anti-sacrifice campaigner. He begins with speaking about the horrifying rituals that he had to endure as well as things he has done. Then he speaks how he wants to end all of it, how he visits church's to pray, and what he does to help put an end to child sacrifices.

In the end, the article wraps up by talking about some children who were able to escape and live after the rituals. Then talks very little about the trials that witch doctors are now being faced with, and with hope, many more to come.

Arab Spring Moves to Syria

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/world/middleeast/syria-reportedly-continues-drive-to-retake-rebel-strongholds.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast#

            This article is informative about the ongoing conflict in Syria, as part of the Arab Spring. The government in Syria is in turmoil, since there are many cities that are being overpowered by the military, causing a lot of people to be injured in the fighting. There are children in Syria are being exposed to violent protest and seeing all of the injured people, even dead bodies that lie in the street. In some areas where the fighting is at its worst, kids are also being killed and wounded. There have been repeated attempts to limit and stop the fighting in Syria but there is not a lot of cooperation between the government and the citizens. The article gives first hand experiences of someone who has escaped Syria telling what he saw when he was there, and also tells us that the government is being very violent in response to try to stop the rebellions and protests.

            My personal opinion on the Syrian conflict is that I am glad the harsh dictators are being taken out of power. The people of Syria do not have much say in what happens in the country and overthrowing the dictator could give them an opportunity to do so. On the other hand, it is frightening to realize that at this point in time almost anyone could gain power in that country that appears to be promising on the outside. I do not think that the way they are gaining power is the best because it causes to many lives to be lost. In relation to my topic of Israel versus the Arab nations, it is a scary time for Israel because if someone gains power that does not like Israel then they are on edge waiting to see what they will do. Although it gives Israel a chance to be on good terms with an Arab country if someone with good intentions gains control then Israel could gain an Arab ally.    

NASA Measures Impact of Huge Solar Flare on Earth's Atmosphere

NASA Measures Impact of Huge Solar Flare on Earth


Due to a relatively new satellite called SABER, NASA was able to measure the impact of a large solar flare that impacted with the Earth's atmosphere this last week. It was one of the largest solar flares in the last decade, and usually they cause some kind of interference with technology on Earth, but because of the angle that the solar flare hit the atmosphere, the damage was minimal. What is really interesting is that the solar flare heated up the outer atmosphere, and there were large spikes in emission of both carbon dioxide and nitric oxide. Even though solar flares are known to heat up the atmosphere, NASA has not found any direct link of solar flares impacting the climate or weather on Earth. The SABER satellite also allows for the study of atmospheric trends and will be able to examine long term changes in the upper atmosphere. The satellite was meant to run for two years, but has worked without error for ten years, and scientists at NASA are hoping that it will continue to run until the end of the solar season in 2014.

With our class recently discussing global warming, I think that it's interesting that there is potentially another cause for the rising temperatures. Even though NASA has claimed that there have been no direct results of climate change from the solar flares being absorbed in the atmosphere (mainly because the spikes in temperature and C02 do not last for very long), they do not deny that the solar flares could have an impact on Earth's climate and effect the ozone in the future. I personally feel that even if solar flares are effecting our climate, it would be at an extremely minimal rate, and solar flares have been occurring throughout Earth's existence, so nothing out of the ordinary is happening. It's also unsettling knowing that something that is naturally emitted from our sun has the power to negatively alter communications satellites, so much so that NASA usually warns energy companies of large, oncoming solar flares. They are unable to do physical harm to Earth itself, but technology is a large part of our lives.

Natural Disasters

http://newsflavor.com/world/asia/2011-the-disaster-year-for-earthquakes-tsunamis-and-other-natural-disasters/

This article goes over the worst hurricanes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters of 2011. There were many earthquakes through out last year, but the biggest one, at an 8.9 magnitude, hit Japan. This was the largest earthquake to ever hit Japan, bringing other problems along with it. It triggered a tsunami which made everything ten times worse. There was even the possibility of two nuclear plants leaking radiation. There were many other earthquakes, but Japans had the worst outcome. There was over 1,500 deaths and almost all buildings, bridges, roads, and dams were ruined. After the tsunami hit, their predictions were right, and there was radiation in the air.

This article really struck me as interesting. I have read about this many times, but this one really got my attention. It compared the Japan earthquake to others that year, which I had not done. The damage was terrible in comparison to those. The pictures were also ones I had never viewed before, and I'm definitely a visual person so those were very good at catching my attention. The fact that all of this happened so quickly but will take a very long time to fix makes me sick. There is so much that still needs to be done to repair all of the damages, and only a certain amount of money to do that with. It was a devastating occurance and it is still a big deal today, especially with the radiation leak.

Syria Continues Drive

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/world/middleeast/syria-reportedly-continues-drive-to-retake-rebel-strongholds.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast#

       Even though the U.N. has called for a cease-fire, fighting in Syria continues. Russia believes that the rebels must initiate the cease-fire and stop fighting, while many other countries like the U.S. think that it is the governments job to end the violence. Kofi Annan, the U.N.- Arab representative, is scheduled to talk to Russia's president about the issue, and then with China. Russia has also made clear that they still continue to support Assad, Syria's president, despite their agreement with the cease-fire. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, believes that the agreement within the U.N. has shown international unity.

       I'm glad that the U.N. has decided to try to help Syria in this ongoing conflict with the call for a cease-fire, but it still isn't enough as the fighting continues. I also think that the responsibility lies within the Syrian government to stop fighting first, the people need to see that the government is willing to try fix problems other than with force. It has become highly dangerous in Syria, more people dying and becoming wounded everyday, including many children, something I see as unacceptable. Nothing is going to be fixed if someone doesn't take the first step to solving their problems peacefully, which means talking with both the people and the government to find a compromise that everyone agrees upon. It won't be easy, and many people will probably still be angry about it, but it's better than killing their own people because they don't agree with the government's opinion.

Wielding Fire, Islamists Target Nigeria Schools (Terrorism)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/world/africa/in-nigeria-boko-haram-targets-schools.html?_r=1&ref=world 

In recent weeks a radical Islamist group the Boko Haram which means Western Learning or Books forbidden has been destroying and burning down schools in Africa near the region of Nigera. The reason they are doing this is to over throw the Nigerian government. Before the rampage on schools they had been destroying markets, killing police officers, elected officials, United Nations workers etc. Basically anyone who was in support of the Nigeria government, which is what they are striving to overthrow. As one person said, "It is now a war on schools." One of the members said, “‘We are Boko Haram, and we will burn the school,’ ” They have displaced thousands of kids and now the kids are forced to stay home, putting a heavy burned on the parents, and the kids won't be able to go back for awhile because the government refuses to even provide chalk for what is left of a black board. For the schools that were not destroyed kids still refuse to go, because they are afraid the school we be bombed. With so many kids out of school it isn't leaving them a bright future. 

My response to this is disgust. It just amazes me that people could be so heartless. The only thing these kids really had was their education. Many of the kids live a very poor life and without a proper education they will not be able to grow up and become successful adults accepted into the work force. Personally I think it is terrible that the government is refusing to support the schools that have been destroyed. Even after the schools were destroyed the kids still showed up to school to learn outside, but with no materials available the stopped showing up. I think if kids are showing that much initiative to learn then the government should at least attempt to supple them with the necessary materials. Also it was said that with in the last two year the Boko Haram has killed over 900 people. I think something more needs to be done. 

Whales and Sea World

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/justice/killer-whale-lawsuit/index.html
The lawyers of the Ethical  animal protection is going up against the Owners of sea world, saying they enslaved 13 killer whales to be entertainment for  the tourist that come. the whole problem with this law suit is whether its fare to use human entity for something that isn't a human. the Ethical  group demands the release of the whales. But the Sea world company says that its far for people to learn more about Marin mammals and enjoy to animals. their also saying that even if the Ethical  animal protection agency wins the case, there well be no punishment for sea world.
I believe that if the animals were born and raised  in captivity, then its fare for the people of sea world to show them off to the thousands of people that go to visit sea world, because the animal was born in captivity they don't know how to survive in the wild it would be safer to keep them in captivity for the sake of the animal. If the animals were not born in captivity, and they were kidnapped then they should be set free, and the owners of the sea world should go to jail.

Kony & the Invisible Children & Human Trafficking

My topic was on Kony and the Invisible Children & Human Trafficking. Kony is one of the most wanted war criminals. He kidnaps children and makes boys soldiers and girls sex slaves. He is the leader of the LRA (lords resistance army). Human Trafficking is also another issue that i discussed, most of the time its when women, men, or children are pimped out to have sex for money, to make their pimp money. Both topics are slightly similar due to Kony forcing girls to have sex with soldiers and women, men, and children being pimped out.

I feel that these are real issues and need to be addressed. I feel that the Kony campaign will help the world see that the invisible children need to be know about and that the issue be known so that the government will get more involved in stopping Kony. Human trafficking is illegal and goes on everywhere even in Iowa i feel that these issues need to be solved.

CNBC: Standard of Living Drop

The US is facing some tough times, and many Americans are feeling it.  Given the recent recession and economic downturns, the average american has lost much of their disposable incomes. These disposable incomes are very helpful in determining Standard of Living, as the disposable income is money spent on non-necessities such as movies, rides, pools, games, and other accessories you may enjoy in day to day life. CNBC reports that the average american has lost $1,315 of their disposable income in the past three years. To add to that inflation has reduced consumer buying power by 3.25 percent since 2008, making their money worth less. Overall, the Standard of Living is not looking to sharp for the US.

I believe this is terrible, the United States needs to remain as the country with the best standard of living in the world, and needs to remain as the most comfortable nation on earth. The United States has lost much of its power due to lack of economic efficiency created by joblessness, regulation, and other burdens on businesses. It is unfortunate that this has taken away 1,315 dollars out of the pockets of Americans, who would otherwise be having fun in a new pool, watching movies, or doing other non-necessary activities.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1754

There are more than 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. Some people believe that we should give them citizenship and keep them here while others don't think we should give lawbreakers that right. This topic is one of the biggest topics in the United States today, and most people believe that we should keep immigrants out of America. Illegal immigrants take jobs in the U.S. for minimum wage and those jobs are the ones that nobody would ever want to do. This hurts the people without a voice, the uneducated and poor families that can't get those jobs because illegal immigrants came and took them.

I believe that illegal immigrants should leave America because they are pretty much taking jobs that poor and uneducated families need to stay alive. Not to seem racist or anything but illegal immigrants make the U.S. population goes up and that doesn't help the over-population issue either. Also, it makes other illegal immigrants think it is OK that they can just come in and make a living. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but they are taking jobs that American's need the most and without them they have to rely on the government to give them money for food and all, which at anytime period could be cut off.

American border law enforcement uses more military equipment

American border patrol officers are arming themselves with high-tech weapons such as newly developed grenade launchers, armored cars with fast firing machine guns, and they are using the same type of unmanned drones that we are using in Iraq and Afghanistan. The police in Texas are using armored cars that weigh about 7 tons and that can withstand bullets from a AK-47. The unmanned drones, which are equipped with night vision cameras, have already lead to about 7,500 arrests at the border and the capture of 46,600 pounds of illegal drugs since the program started in 2005. The unmanned drones can fly as high as 50,000 feet and identify vehicles and people on the ground while being operated by controllers more than 1,000 miles away. To maintain these unmanned drones, the United States has spent just over $240 million.

My personal opinion on this matter is that we are doing the right thing by not letting drugs and illegal immigrants into our country, but I do not like the fact that it is costing us a lot of money. I also like the fact that we can stop these people without having to put our people in harms way. Or the fact that the technology of bullet proof cars is helping save American lives against the drug cartels.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120319134202.htm

It is stunning that some of our world could be underwater in a thousand years. It is not surprising that sea levels are rising considering the amount of fossil fuels given off in the world. It is good that we are trying to limit global warming and slow it down. This is a bigger problem for future generations to come. We need to help the future generations because modern humans have never had to deal with such an extreme environmental issue. Nothing this bad has happened since the Pliocene Epoch, or 3.2 million years ago.

I believe global warming is a very serious issue that cannot go unresolved. We need to list global warming as a higher priority. We only have one earth to live on and we need to protect. We can do this by getting greener, such as using less gas and reducing carbon dioxide, and greenhouse emmisions. Global warming is a huge problem a lot of people don't even notice.

Trayvon Martin's dad thanks Heat For "Taking Notice"

Trayvon Martin's father says thanks to the Miami Heat for showing support and speaking out about his son's death. Martin is the father of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26 by a neighborhood watch volunteer who claimed self-defense and has not been arrested. On Friday, Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat posted a photo of himself in a hooded top to his social media pages, while teammate, LeBron James tweeted a photo of 13 Heat players wearing black hoodies with their heads bowed in a tribute to the slain boy. Many athletes across the nation have reached out in support to Trayvon's family including Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing, and Ray Lewis. Tracy Martin, Trayvon's mom stated that "It's like everybody's taking notice. The Miami Heat came out in their hoodies, and that's just saying, `We are people, we have hearts, we have feelings, we have emotions.' That's a warm feeling. The sports world has embraced this big-time."

My personal opinion on this is that it is very tragic and sad to hear what happened to Trayvon Martin. It's a shame that he was killed and also that his killer has not faced any punishment for his crime. Justice is yet to be served on this topic. I can't imagine what Trayvon's family is going through so it's great to see athletes reach out to Trayvon's family and to show their support for Trayvon. Last Friday, I had noticed on Facebook and Twitter that many celebrities and athletes reached out by wearing hoodies for Trayvon. What the Miami Heat did was well respected and a great tribute to Trayvon. I highly recommend for more celebrities and athletes to show their support for Trayvon so that justice can be served and Trayvon can be remembered.

US, UK discuss emergency oil stocks release

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46747759/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron met on March 15 to discuss the US's raise in oil prices. They talked about releasing an oil reserve to lower the price of oil. The oil reserve Obama would release would be the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) which can hold up to 700 million barrels of oil. Obama is considering not doing it because of talks with the IEA (International Energy Agency) because it would make allies mad from European countries. Lots of Americans are pushing towards the release of the SPR.

My personal opinion on the release of the SPR would be to release it because oil prices would go way down with all the new oil. Also, Barack very well could win some peoples vote for the next election with the release of the SPR. If the oil prices go down, that means the gay prices will stop to drop and I can save more money instead of putting expensive gas into my car. Oil is a very important issue in the world all the time, that is because it is a supply and demand method. Pretty soon oil is going to run out, atleast I think, and we are all going to have to move on to those little electric cars. In conclusion, I want oil prices to stay low forever.

New Ad Campaign Openly Depicts Gay Parents

http://www.lgbt-news.com/2011/01/raise-child-ad-campaign-puts-real-face.html
In Southern California, a non-profit organization has launched an ad campaign showing images of gay male couples with children. The group, which specializes in supporting gay fathers, seeks to nullify the perception that gay parents are unclean and unfit to raise a child. These ads appear in the form of posters, with real people on them. The campaign is not over.

I fully support this. This kind of thing is exactly what the gay community needs. Showing images of men kissing would only perpetuate ideas that gays are too sexual to raise a healthy child. Besides, so many campaigns have been focusing on sexuality that it seems like many groups have forgotten to treat their beneficiaries as the regular human beings that they truly are.

3 plead guilty to hate crimes in Mississippi (Modern Racism)

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/22/justice/mississippi-hate-crime/index.html

Deryl Dedmon, John Aaron Rice and Dylan Butler have pleaded guilty to the 2011 killing of an African-American man in Jackson. Their crime fell under the hate-crime enhancement from the 2009 federal hate crime law. The federal prosecutors have stated that the men can face up to life in prison as well as $250,000 fines. Deryl Dedmon has already plead guilty and sentenced to life in prison in state court and his two co defendants made their first appearances in federal court on Thursday. All three of the defendants have admitted to harassing African-American men in the past, including throwing bottles at them and driving at them with cars. The three men have admitted to beating 47 year old James Anderson and then running him over with a truck. Four other men have also been implicated. The three men are being charged under the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, named after Matthew Shepard, a gay man beaten to death and left tied to a fence and James Byrd Jr. an African-American man who died after being dragged around by white supremists.

As much as I hate to admit it, racism still, obviously, still exists in our society today. Despite the fact that it has been 149 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was given and 67 years since the Extermination camps were liberated across Europe, people still cannot tolerate other people based on their race, ethnicity, etc. And it scares me to know that racism is not going anywhere in the near future. As it is made obvious by this case, there are still ignorant people in this world who cannot tolerate other people because they are different. I am glad that these men are getting what they diverse and I hope that everyone who was involved is punished as well.

Election 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/politics/santorum-projected-winner-of-louisiana-primary.html?_r=1&ref=politics#

On Saturday night, GOP candidate Rick Santorum won the Louisiana primary with 49% of the vote. Frontrunner Mitt Romney came in 2nd with 27%, Newt Gingrich in 3rd with 16%, and Ron Paul in 4th with 6%. 15 delegates were given out last night with Santorum getting 2/3 of those delegates and the remaining 1/3 going to Romney. There are still more delegates to be given out with most of them presumably going to Santorum and some to Romney. However, Santorum's win in Louisiana last night really had no impact on the race because Romney still has 300+ more delegates than Santorum does in the delegate count. The win may benefit Santorum's campaign, but they have a bumpy road ahead of them with Maryland, Texas, DC, and Wisconsin and more northeastern states, where Romney is the strongest in.

My personal reaction to the senator's win last night was expected. With the evangelical Christian vote in the south, I'm not shocked to see Rick win this state with a vast majority of the vote. However, Katherine and Trip are right in saying that the win doesn't impact the race at all in so far as Romney has double the amount of delegates Santorum has. It's going to be really tough for Santorum to gain momentum on his own and winning eastern coast states where Romney has been winning by huge margins. The only state I see Santorum winning in the east is Pennsylvania, which is where he's from. If Speaker Gingrich and Rep. Paul drop out of the race, the race could turn around with the anti-Romney vote going in Santorum's way.

Big Donations in GOP Race (Election 2012)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-03-21/super-donors-GOP-race/53686982/1

     According to the USA today, "big-buck donations" are fueling a heated debate regarding this year's political race for the coveted GOP nomination. Reportedly, $16 million is being pumped into Newt Gingrich's campaign from the "Winning Our Future" super PAC, and this amount represents 96% of his total funding. Similarly, Mitt Romney is receiving over half (52%) of his campaign funding from the Restore Our Future super PAC. A wealthy Wyoming investor, Foster Friess has donated $1.6 million to the Santorum campaign, which is mainly supported by a multitude of "super-donors." Apparently, all major candidates have a large amount of campaign funding coming from individual investors or super PACs, but the question remains as to how exactly this affects their ability to effectively compete for the official GOP nomination.
     Personally, I think that this spending is out of control. First, I cannot believe that individuals would spend that much money on a single candidate's campaign. The amounts alone blow me away, and the money could definitely be used for bettering America or the world as a whole by providing food, clothing, or shelter to those in need. Also, single individuals having that large of an impact on America's Presidential race worries me because those donating have to have a personal agenda behind their funding a candidate, and this could affect how that candidate will perform as our next President. When all is said and done, a President should be elected based on his political ideals and ability to lead, not how rich his friends are.

Future of nuclear power in North Korea

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/northkorea/nuclear_program/index.html

This article talks about the increasing hostilities between North Korea and the rest of the world. In 2006, North Korea became the world's eighth atomic power, joining such superpowers as the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, and Canada. Since then, North Korea has been intimidating countries around the world, trying to show their nuclear dominance. The U.N. has continued to remain non-hostile on the issue by going through peaceful negotiations with North Korea. While some think this is the best way, some argue the negotiations are pointless, and are just giving North Korea more time to build up their nuclear arsenal. In late February of 2012, North Korea announced they would suspend the nuclear program for food aid in return.

I think that North Korea is not going to change, no matter what they say. For decades, they have promised to close down nuclear plants and suspend atomic research, but nothing has stopped them yet. I think this is just another stunt by North Korea to get aid to it's people. I have no doubts that they will re-launch their nuclear programs within a few months. I do however, think that peaceful negotiations are the best way. I don't think the world could handle an all out war with a country like North Korea, where so many questions are unanswered. The future of nuclear power in the region is still uncertain, but I know that the threat is still there.

Every Monday, students should post a new current event article (the url) on their assigned course topic.  The post should be no shorter than 2 paragraphs - 1 a summary of the article and 2 a reaction / opinion about the update.  By Friday, students must read at least 2 other students' blog posts and post a comment to their posts.  The comment should be long enough to prove that you did in fact at least read the post (though not necessarily the article).  It should be at least a couple sentences long.