Biggest Current Issue in Virginia - Question #4

The biggest current political issue in Virginia involves gun rights.  Virginians tend to be very conservative on the issue of gun control laws.  The Democrats are pointing out in the upcoming election, however, that many of the Republicans are too conservative on gun control laws, meaning that they want to give too much freedom and not enough regulation on the ability of people to own guns.  In some areas, both parties believe in the right for people to bear arms.  This means that voting for a Democrat would only tighten up regulations a bit, and wouldn't have any large impact on gun laws.


I think that the Democrats will be much more successful that before in Virginia if they make clear their standpoint on gun laws.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/democrats-train-sights-on-gun-issues-in-northern-virginia-races/2011/10/26/gIQApUhSMM_story.html

Obama's Report Card: Question of the week #3

Total grade: B

Health Care: B

Obama signed the historic health care bill in 2010.  However, most of the major provisions don't go into effects until 2014, meaning there has been a minimal effect on most Americans


War on Terror: A
Obama has done an excellent job protecting the United States against terrorists.  The pinnacle of his achievements was the death of Osama Bin Laden, who was killed in an operation ordered by Obama.

Dealing with the Economic Downturn: B
Obama inherited the wost financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression.  Although the recovery is slow, progress is being made.  One of the mistakes he made was to overemphasize his health care bill.  He should have focused more on lowering the federal debt.

Reelection bid: C
I believe Obama has a chance at being reelected for president.  With the economy as the biggest issue in the upcoming election, he can make the case that he is currently pulling the economy out of the recession, and that reelecting another Republic candidate would result in policies which caused the recession in the first place.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt made the same case after his first term during the Great Depression.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/18/140573224/obamas-re-election-what-are-the-odds

Occupy Wall Street goes Global - CE #3

 The Occupy Wall Street movement, whose goal is to protest social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government, began on Wall Street on September 17, 2011.  It is now slowly escalating to a global scale, with protests yesterday in Rome, Paris, London, and dozens of other countries and cities.  A wikipedia page listed all of the protests planned for yesterday. locations.  In the US, the situation has escalated to a national scale, with protest reaching from coast to coast.  The protests, however, remain relatively peaceful.

I'm extremely unsure as to the outcome of this movement.  Unlike many successful protests in the past, such as those for female suffrage, or for abolition of slavery, this movement is very decentralized and disjointed.  It does not have a strong leader, nor does it have a strong single message.  It is, however, picking up global momentum.  If anything, it has the potential to socialize taxes, weaken lobbyists, and raise taxes on corporations.

Google - news query
Wikipedia - timeline
CNN - video of global protests
Wikipedia - article for defining the movement
Washington Post - Occupy Walls Street goes global

Marijuana: Question of the Week #2

Ever since I discovered how muddled our knowledge of marijuana is, I have taken a fascination to uncovering it's history, as well as the scientific nature of the substance.  In this blog post I will briefly cover it's history (to the best of my ability, as this is a very confusing subject), the arguments for and against it, and any current political events regarding this substance.
 
History
Marijuana wasn't put on the wasn't put on the schedule 1 drug list for scientific reasons.  By 1937, 23 states

Environmental Issues with Canada to US pipeline - CE #2

Over 800 people have been arrested in ongoing protests at the White House against the environmental issues of a proposed oil pipeline.  The 1700 mile-long Keystone pipeline is to run from Canada to refineries on the coast of Texas.

Environmental Impact

      The Bad

o      Pollution equivalent to building 7 new coal-fired power planes.

o      Will act as a catalyst, opening the door to Canada’s vast oil-sand resources

o      Oil from oil sands produces between 5% to 30% more greenhouse gas emissions than traditional crude

o      Can leech toxins into waterways

       The Good

o      The project will be too small to make a significant difference in worldwide pollution

Economic Impact:

• create 13,000 construction jobs and 7,000 additional jobs making the steel, pumps and other necessary equipment.
• Bring an additional 700,000 barrels of oil a day into the United States
• Will help Canada expand it’s oil industry

The Solyndra factor

After going bankrupt, the high-tech solar panel manufacturing company Solyndra has been guaranteed a half-billion dollar loan from the federal government.  The Obama administration has been taking heat on its decision to support this unproven new solar technology.  If the administration denies this pipeline to be build, then it will have supported an unproven new solar energy technology, and then dismissed a proven source of energy and jobs (oil).  This will not look good for the Democrats in the upcoming 2012 elections.

CNN
NPR

Liberal v. Conservative views

A quick breakdown of their positions on varying issues.

1. Affirmative action

·       Liberal:  Reverse discrimination is needed to correct the past wrongs against minority groups, because the majority is inherently better off now.

·       Conservative:  Same as liberal, but against some aspects of it, such as the quota requirement.  Conservatives are O.K. with minorities having an edge in applications, but not a guarantee of acceptance.

·       My Position:  Central.  I believe a quota requirement may be necessary to give certain races an equal chance of education, but only to an extent.  I would not make the quota very large.

2. Gun Control

My Political Party

Question of the Week:  What political party are you most closely aligned with?  Why?
Website I used to decide

I am primarily a democrat.  I believe in personal freedoms, and a free market.


My Democrat views

• Death penalty should be illegal.
• Women should have the right to have an abortion
• I fear changes in the Earth, as apposed to changes in society.
• Minority groups (homosexual community) should not have to conform to the majority (heterosexual community).
• I prefer to have foreign military operations directed jointly with international organizations such as the United Nations or N.A.T.O, as opposed to only being directed by Americans and the Pentagon.
• I view the Constitution as a "living, changing document" with "evolving standards of morality".  I do not believe the Constitution is a "non changing, strictly constructed document".
• I respect the religious beliefs of others by not imposing my own religion on them.
• I believe the individual should have the final authority in deciding what to do with his body, as opposed to the government deciding for them.

My Republican views

• I see guns as a defensive tool of protection, as opposed to an offensive tool of aggression. 
• The government is a little bit too involved in the economy.
• The federal government is too involved in issues that should be dealt with by the states.