Does Rick Perry have a chance? CE #1

Although GOP candidate Rick Perry had been a forerunner several months ago, he has severely ruined his chances at winning the GOP presidential nomination due to several recent debate flubs.  For example, when asked what the three agencies were that he wanted to eliminate, he recalled 2 of them, but could not remember the 3rd and gave up after an awkward 50 seconds of silence.

Many people, however, say that Perry still has hope.  Indeed, many of us have a habit of taking what happened in one day, and using it to predict what will happen in the next 7 weeks.  But so far, that hasn't been the case.

Some assets Perry has are his strong ties to he Tea Party,  and his credential as the longest continuously serving U.S. governor.  He is a proven campaigner who has repeatedly defied the political odds.  In fact, he has not lost an election for 3 decades.


http://news.yahoo.com/rick-perry-20111104.html

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/11/13/Some-say-Rick-Perry-still-has-a-chance/UPI-85471321206073/

Political Cartoon #1

E-Parasites Act- Current Event #4

The E-Parasites Act, which currently is in the Senate, aims to block access to copyright infringing websites.  The government will have the power to create a "blacklist" of websites.  To be on the list they must be "foreign infringing sites" and "have only limited purpose or use other than" infringement.  Sites such as ThePirateBay.com would be blocked under this act.

The main criticism of this act is that the criteria for websites it blocks, is too broad.  It allows for for two much decisions to made on the whim of government officials.  It has been nicknamed "The Great Firewall of America", which is a pun of "The Great Wall of China", and compares China's fierce internet censor laws to the possible future of the United States.

I think this bill has the possibitly to pass, because it has lots of support.  However, it also has a large opposition, so if it does pass, it might be in a modified and watered down form.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111026/12130616523/protect-ip-renamed-e-parasites-act-would-create-great-firewall-america.shtml

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