Censorship

The United States government recently censored over 70 websites. Among the websites censored were Torrentfinder.com and other related copyright infringement cites. The owner of the website remarked, "M domain has been seized without any previous complaint or notice from any court!"I don't think that it's just for the government to seize a website without any notification. Although torrent sites technically are illegal and are stealing from others, seizing a website without prior notification seems absurd to me. I know that we have to be safe especially with Wikileaks coming out with new information and all, but there's a very thin line between censorship and unjust censorship.

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Republican Candidates Article

This article is a good article in the way it informs people of the possible candidates running for election in 2012 for the Republican Party. The article talks about how the Republicans are searching for better candidates because they are so divided right now. With so many opposing viewpoints within the party they are going to have to find an all encompassing candidate if they are going to have a chance to beat Obama in 2012. The tea party has really divided the Republicans with their extreme views and thus, there's a strong division within party lines. Some possible candidates include Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney, but none of them have  a clear advantage over the others. The Democrats have to be loving this because their opposition is totally divided. This article does a great, non biased job of explaining the facts surrounding the election in 2012. Non biased coverage is essential in keeping a nation informed.

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Fox News, Birth Certificate

This video detracts from keeping the publice informed. I have to admit I am biased and I am not a fan of Fox News Channel, but in this Video Michelle Malkin makes some seriously outrageous claims. She talks about how frivolous resident Obama has been in the fact that he said he needed to focus on more important issues than Birth Certificate veracity, yet he then goes on the view and plays basketball. I find it necessary to point out that the president before Obama took more time out of work than any other president in history. She also says that Whoopi Goldberg on the view played the race card. I don't agree with that statement at all. It is racist that people are calling for Obama's birth certificate. Why didn't they ask for Bush's or Clinton's birth certificate, or for that matter any other president in history? I don't think it is a coincidence that the first black president in history is the first one demanded of his birth certificate. Overall this video is incredibly biased and is definitely detracting from the publics view on politics.

The Internet's Effect on the World

Shortly after Hosni Mubarak stepped down, an activist named Wael Ghonim spoke out on Wolf Blitzers show saying that he owed the revolution to Facebook. As one of the leaders of the protest on january 25, Ghonim said that he reached out to the youth of the country on Facebook to inspire the revolution. After years of oppression from the Egyptian government, the people rose up to fight it, and Facebook played a key role in developing the revolt. Although Ghonim insisted that he was not a hero because he was just sitting behind a computer, he said that the true heroes were the ones on the streets putting their lives on the line. The fact is that Facebook and the internet have taken over our world and anything can happen now. Revolutions can happen in an instant with the internet and the ability to communicate so quickly. The internet has shaped our world in ways that were never possible only a decade or two ago.

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Opposing Political Ads

This ad campaign is very misleading. Mitt Romney talks about how we are raising taxes and how we are in trillions of dollars in debt. The reality is, that Bush put us in to these trillions of dollars of debt. Bush got us into this mess and Obama had to come in and clean it up. The raised taxes are absolutely necessary. We have to raise taxes in order to get out of the debt.There's no way we can start making money unless we tax the American people and cut certain programs.
But, although misleading, its still effective. The comercial has a very official feel to it and makes the viewer think that Romney is the perfect candidate to be running the country.



This is a good ad. Although I am biased towards democrats I actually think this ad is better than the other. This ad interviews people from all different races and genders and gets their opinion. The opposing ad is very slanderous and makes a point to put down the opposition, while this ad just promotes the candidate. This ad has a positive message throughout and I feel is a better approach to a political campaign

The Problem With E-Commerce

   E-commerce taxation is a very difficult issue for states.The problem with e- commerce is that states cannot tax it. People selling items to each other on Ebay or Craigs List makes no money for the state, which is detrimental to their funding. With e- commerce on the rise, it will be interesting to see how they decide to tax it. They must tax it universally with the same amount so as their is not a gray area and a difference between different websites.The problem will also occur in border to border deals. Because all states have different percentages of taxation, it is hard to decide which states policy should be used. This issue will become more prevalent in our society as e- commerce becomes more and more popular.


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Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

In 1954 in Topeka, Kansas a group of activists and lawyers in the NAACP decided to try to overturn Plessy V. Ferguson. They combined 4 different cases that all had to do with black and white integration in schools. A little black girl named Linda Brown had to walk miles to get to her all black school and lived a block away from the all white school. She was part of a test case that was taken to the Supreme Court. They argued that the schools were not "separate but equal" facilities and in the end won the case. the court ruled unanimously in their favor and ended segregation in schools. I agree with the courts decision. The fact that schools weren't integrated al the way until 1954 is astounding. America is a great country but we definitely have some bad spots in our history, and segregation is one of them. This decision, although it took a while to go into effect, overturned segregation and was monumental in the American Civil Rights movement.

Gideon V. Wainwright

In Florida in 1963, Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for breaking into a pool hall with the intent to burglarize it. He wanted a court appointed attorney, but was refused because the crime was not considered a capital offense. Gideon, under his own defense, pleaded not guilty but was found guilty. Later, from prison, Gideon asked to appeal his case with a petition called "in forma pauperis" and the court accepted the appeal and appointed him an attorney. Gideon took the case to the Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of Gideon and overturned the previous decision Betts V. Brady. I agree with this decision because everyone has the right to an attorney. The court said that even though the defense may be able to prepare a perfect argument, their right to an attorney is sustained. This case was monumental in establishing the right to an attorney and the 14th Amendment.


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Miranda V. Arizona

The case debated in Miranda V. Arizona involved various cases that culminated under the same idea. The title case though, involved a man named Ernesto Miranda who had been arrested in Arizona under charges of rape and kidnapping. He was not informed of his right to remain silent or his right to an attorney. After a long period of interrogation, Miranda signed a confession and was found guilty. Miranda took his case to the Supreme Court citing the 5th Amendment saying that, "no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." The Chief Justice Earl Warren recognized the fact that people go through tremendous psychological pressure in the interrogation room, and that this could affect the rational judgement of a person under that amount of pressure. Warren also explained that Miranda must be informed of all of his rights and in fat, because he was not the case had to be thrown out. The court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Miranda. I agree with the court on this decision. A person must be made known their rights no matter how bad of a crime they have committed. As we have seen this year, a some people admit t crimes they haven't even committed because of the pressure of interrogation. This case was very important in establishing people's rights and stabilizing the 5th Amendment.


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Regents of the University of California V. Bakke

In 1978 Alan Bakke, a white student applying to the medical school of UC Davis, was rejected admission. He was not admitted to the school even though he had better test scores than the minority students applying. The minority students had a different criteria for admission than white students. After getting rejected from the medical school, Bakke sued the college. He took the case to the Supreme Court citing a violation of the 14th Amendment with equal protection under the law. The court sided with Bakke in a 5 to 4 decision. They ruled that the separate criteria was a violation of the 14th Amendment. I think the court made the right decision in this case. Just because someone is of a different ethnicity doesn't mean they should be held at different standards. That seems racist in itself to think that a person of color would be held at a lower standard and be more easily admitted to a college. This decision was the predecessor to affirmative action which is being heavily debated now.


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Miller V. California

A man named Miller sent out a large quantity of "adult" books and films to the public in 1973. Miller was prosecuted for violating California's obscenity laws, so he appealed the case. He argued that this went against the 1st Amendment and the right to free speech and freedom of the press. The Supreme Court ruled against Miller with a vote of 5 to 4. They ruled that the work lacked "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." I think the court made a good decision in Miller V. California. Although I do believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, I think Miller took it to an extreme. He sent porn to people who didn't ask for it, and forced obscene material on them. He had no right to invade their privacy like he did.

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Plessy Vs Ferguson

A law in Louisiana in 1890 read that railroads had to provide "separate but equal" accommodations for white and colored people. A man named Homer Plessy decided to test this law. Plessy was 1/8th black and tried to sit in the white section of the train on a trip from New Orleans to Covington. Plessy was ordered to move but he refused and was arrested and put in jail by a local judge named Ferguson. Plessy took the case to the Supreme Court claiming that it was a violation of the 13th Amendment. The court ruled that segregation laws were widely recognized and had to be enforced. This was the wrong decision in my opinion. This court case set the stage for segregation across the United States and wouldn't be overturned for another 60 years. The fact that people were ok with segregation is appalling, and I really think the Supreme Court got it wrong here, even if it was over 100 years ago.


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United States Vs Nixon

On June 1972, 5 men with bugging equipment were arrested in the Democratic National Convention. They were later found to have been working for CREEP or the Committee to Re-elect the President. The United States Department of Justice hired a special prosecutor to investigate what would be called the Watergate Scandal. President Nixon had been taping conversations of the Republican Party so he could help his campaign. The Federal court ruled unanimously that Nixon had to overturn the tapes when he refused.I think that the court made the right decision in this case. The President has no right to wiretap the opposing party and keep the tapes from the American people. The public has a right to know what goes on behind closed doors in the US government. Later, after the tapes were turned over, Nixon ended up resigning before he could get impeached.

http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar41.html

Roe V. Wade

In my opinion Every woman should have the right to choose to have an abortion. The court ruled 7 to 2 in favor of Roe in this case, which in my opinion is the right decision. Even if the fetus is considered a human in the later stages of pregnancy, I still think that the woman should have the right to abort it. What if the woman was raped and didn't want the baby? Or the woman couldn't take care of the baby. I think it is the woman's right to abort the fetus id the baby will not have a good life. This monumental court case made it so women could get an abortion in 46 out of 50 states, and was a big step forward socially in the United States.

Community Service Paper

Alex Towne

Period 6

April 13^th, 2011

Community Service Paper

Part 1

World hunger is one of the biggest problems we are facing in the 21^st century. From the year 2007 to 2008, food prices spiked around the world causing millions of family’s to go into debt and struggle to put dinner on the table. With over 2 billion people around the world living on less than $2 a day and over 880 million living on less than $1 a day, the rise in prices has contributed to a lot of economic hardship for many people. This is a very important issue to me because I care about others. I am a democrat and I think that everyone should have the right to eat good and healthy food. If there’s anything the world should not have to worry about it should be nutrition. Eating right is essential to life and should therefore be at the top of our list of problems to deal with. (Clemmit, 1)

            Although there are many root causes to the problem, many believe that the rise in oil prices is one of the main factors. From growing the food to transporting it, all of the machines need oil to run. With the increase in oil prices over the past decade, this has made the cost of food go up as well. President of the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda says, “The era of cheap food may be over.” As the world economy changes and becomes more globalized, many countries produce a large amount of just a few crops for export and import others for their own food supply. This means that transportation is becoming even more important to countries food supply and the increase in oil prices has had a very influential effect. (Clemmit, 1)

            Another reason why there are so many people struggling is because of poverty. Poverty goes hand in hand with hunger, because if you don’t have money, you are going to struggle to buy food. According to the National Poverty Center, in 2009 over 14.3% of Americans lived in poverty. (National Poverty Center) The recent economic downfall has rendered millions to be below the poverty line. As more and more people fall below the poverty line it will be important for the government to step up and provide a way of getting cheap food to them.

The government has taken a few steps to help. As of December 2, 2010 Congress passed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, which enabled more kids to have access to meal plans in their schools and also raised the health regulations on meals in schools. Under this act 21 million more meals will be given out each year to struggling children. (Hunger Free Kids Act) The government is definitely aware of the problem and is somewhat doing their part to help. Although it is very hard to pass legislation at this time in Congress, world hunger is an issue that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. I still think that the US government needs to pass more legislation so that no person in or great country has to struggle to find food.

Part II

Although the United States government has taken some initiative in helping fight hunger across America, the new budget deficit would eliminate some programs that help feed people. The proposed budget would eliminate the program called WIC that provides over 18 million meals to women, infants, and children. Although our deficit is huge in the United States, this cut would hardly make a dent and is not a good option. (Bittman, 1) Personally, I think we should cut military programs to get out of debt. Our people’s health is far more important than our weapons production, in my opinion.  The federal government needs to protect the people’s health with food and medicine rather than guns and bombs.

My community service at the Contra Costa Food Bank related to what we studied this year with supply and demand. We learned that as supply goes up, demand goes down and thus, so do prices. It appears we have a low supply of food in the world, or at least an unequal distribution. This is why food prices are so high. People in the Bay Area need help to get food because food prices are so high, so the food bank serves as a great way for them to get cheap food. As the supply of food is lower, the price goes up. Just like the classic example we saw earlier this year of guns and butter, the United States has decided to spend more of its funding on guns rather than butter.  I don’t think the United States should be as concerned with military as they should with health. Also, the United States is one of only 3 well-developed countries in the world not to have a system of national healthcare. (OECD Report) We currently rank 37^th in the world in healthcare according to the World Health Organization. (World Health Organization Rankings) I think that the United States spends far too little funding on its own people. After watching Sicko this year in class, I felt like the insurance companies were screwing over the people. It is our duty and is stated in the 14^th Amendment that everyone deserves equal protection under the law. If everyone deserves equal protection then why should people be denied the right to get treatment at a hospital because they can’t pay for it? Why should people be denied meals from the government if they can’t pay for them? It’s the same idea, and something needs to be done.

America has a system in place that allows people of low-income status to receive food at low prices. This system of food stamps, although a valid option, is not perfect by any means. People who apply for food stamps must meet certain requirements (be legal citizens, have a social security number, have less than $2000 worth of property in their households, etc.). (Social Security Fact Sheet) Many people who have food stamps aren’t getting enough food. Stacy Dean, the director of food assistance for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities remarked in 2008, “We know food stamps are falling short $34 a month” (Kaufman, 1) This equates to about 2 fewer bags of groceries every week for poor families. This is a huge amount of food considering the people we are talking about. The steady rise in prices has led to people not being able to buy as much food, even the people on food stamps.

I think Obama could really get people on his side if he tried to hammer out a bill that helped Americans have better access to food and health. He pushed through the healthcare bill, but that was a tender subject and had to be toned down because of all of the greedy insurance companies. Especially with the recent natural disasters occurring in Japan and other places, people are willing to help. World hunger is a huge problem, but a fixable problem. Every little bit helps.

This brings up a big question. Is it the government’s fault that food prices are rising? As the US is in trillions of dollars of debt, it cannot just be the food prices. This is a bigger problem. The national debt is so large that the government theoretically can’t do anything. This is a larger problem than just food supply and food prices, this is a fundamental problem of our government. This is why every little part we can do in our communities counts. Volunteering just a little bit of your time can really go a long way. If the government isn’t going to get the job done then we can.

Part III

A filmmaker from Portland, Oregon says, “Feeding 6 billion people is really hard. I don’t think we’ve figured out the right way to do it.” (Clemmit, 1) Although we may not have figured it out, there are things we can do to help. This is where organizations like the Contra Costa Food Bank come in. I worked the majority of my hours at the Contra Costa Food Bank in Concord. There, we helped package a wide range of foods and categorize them so they could be distributed to people of low-income status. Even in a well-developed country like the United States, there are still a lot of people who are struggling to put food on the plate. In the bay area alone are hundreds of thousands in poverty. Because of this, there are many people who need help putting food on the table. The Contra Costa Food Bank’s goal is to give everyone at least 1 nutritious meal per day. (CCFB Website) While working there, I saw how much I could make an impact. By just volunteering a few hours a week of my time, I helped other people receive that one meal they needed.

            Last year alone the Contra Costa Food bank distributed 12.6 million pounds of food. With our help, they can distribute even more and make a larger impact. The Hunger in America Study reported a 46% increase in the number of people in need of food since 2006. More and more people are in need of food in our nations economic crisis. The Contra Costa Food Bank and many other organizations are doing everything they can to make that number go down. (CCFB Website)

            A few of the people who I worked with were actually volunteer’s there full time. It’s amazing to me to think that someone would basically devote their life to helping others. It gives me a sense of hope in the world that people are willing to help others without a cent of money earned. I knew there were people like this, but to actually meet them so close to us was great. There are so many less fortunate people in the world that need help, and its nice to know there are people willing to help them out.

            Overall I learned a lot after doing my community service at the food bank. It felt good to know that I was helping people who are less fortunate than I am.  We live in such a privileged area in Lamorinda, it’s easy to forget that not everyone can live like we do. There are tons of people around us that are not as fortunate who need help, and doing community service is a great way to help them out. We live in a very culturally diverse are with all different kinds of people, and it’s nice to know that we can help them out.

            This experience definitely made me want to volunteer more. I felt a great sense of accomplishment and fulfillment once I finished my time at the food bank. Whenever I help out other people for community service, I’ll be honest I don’t normally look forward to it. I always just want to get it over with and move on to whatever else it is I am going to do that day. But this time was different. Maybe it’s because I’m older now, or because I’m more mature, but I didn’t get that feeling this time. I actually got the opposite. I liked doing community service and helping out others. You don’t always have to be paid to lend a hand. Sometimes its good to work out of the good of your own heart and not for a paycheck. The community service I did at the food bank was humbling. It was good to be reminded that not everyone has it as good as me. Driving to the warehouse, listening to my iPod, in my car that my parents paid for, my clothes that my parents paid for. This experience really put it in perspective how good I have it. I hope to continue the fight to end global hunger and fight for the cause. All it takes is a little bit of help and anyone can make a huge difference.

Milk Madness

   Chocolate milk has been stirring up controversy lately in schools. Typically it has been regarded as a great way for kids to get their vitamin d and other nutrients, because many kids don't drink milk on a daily basis. Now many nutritionists say that it is unhealthy for kids. The high fat content and high sugar content are the main reason for the controversy. Many kids would skip milk altogether if school didn't have chocolate milk. A parent of 3 elementary students remarked, "If we want to fix childhood obesity, chocolate milk is just one of the things we need to get rid of it. Its a treat, not something you have everyday for lunch." I don't agree with this at all. As a student, I drink chocolate milk everyday at lunch, and I would hate it if it got taken away. The majority of kids at our school go for chocolate milk, and even though it does have more calories, it contains just as much nutrients as regular milk. The food supply is low right now, and there would be a lot of wasted milk if we did away with chocolate in schools because kids wouldn't drink it.

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Budget Cuts in all the Wrong Places

   An opinion writer for the New York Times named Mark Bittman decided to fast to oppose the newly proposed budget cuts in congress. The new budget would cut the WIC program which feeds over 18 million women, infants, and children. It would also deny over 4 million people the access to malaria medicine. Bittman makes it a point to say that this would hardly make a dent in the budget and is not worth it. It would cause people to starve who are struggling and put that money into defense. Why does our government always spend so much money for defense. At a certain point, being able to feed people in the US has to be more important than building weapons. I think we should use some of our military funding and transfer it to help the poor and people who are struggling to put food on the table.


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Supposed end to Corruption in India

   On April 9, 2011 an activist in India named Anne Hazare decided he would end his hunger strike if the Indian government would adopt a new law. The activist had been fasting for four days but agreed to stop once the government called a committee to implement a new anti corruption law. Hazare's strike brought thousands of onlookers to New Delhi to look at the spectacle. The Indian government finally gave in and said they would draft a new law by June 30th. Hazare said of his hunger strike, "Its a victory for the people of India."

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Mental Health Break-

Carrots for the Cure

  America is the fattest country in the world. As more and more people are becoming overweight at a young age, it is important we try to stop the trend early in its tracks. Snack foods are always going to be a part of American culture, and all cultures for that matter, but what snacks can we eat that taste good and are good for us?
  Baby carrots are the perfect option. With a revamped campaign to market vegetables and turn people in the right direction and inspire healthier lifestyles, the baby carrot is making a comeback. At the start of the recession, people reverted back to buying normal carrots because they were seen as less of a luxury. Now, with new packaging for vegetables, they are becoming more prevalent.
  We need to start eating healthier. Not only will it help our health, but our economy. We won't have to rely on other nations to import food if we can rely more on our agriculture.

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Pounds of Perception

  According to health.com 2 out of 3 adults are either overweight or obese, and 1 out of 3 kids is overweight or obese. These numbers are astounding. America is the fattest country in the world, and we need to change. The problem is that as America becomes fatter, overweight people become more and more normal in society. The people who are overweight see themselves as normal and don't feel the need to lose a few extra pounds. M.D. Nicole Dumas says, "A lot of their misperception has to do with the fact that overweight and obesity is becoming the norm." The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center who found that over 80 % of the mom's surveyed were overweight, but only 40% of the kids thought their parents were overweight.
  Obesity is a big problem in the US and we need to change. During my community service we sorted food that was suitable for less fortunate people. We can help the overweight by giving them the opportunity to buy cheaper food.  Many poor people turn to fast food because its so cheap, but if we helped them find healthy and cheap options, we can make our society healthier. 


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FDA Bans Japanese Food Imports

 Japan's economy has taken a turn for the worse after the recent devastation. The earthquake and tsunami that occurred in the past week have left many people in dire straits. With all of the destruction, Japanese people will not be able to buy stuff from the US and other countries. They have allocated most of their funds to rebuilding and to helping the situation and are in need of more help.
  Its going to be hard for Japan to rebuild, especially because the US and other countries have banned buying food from them. The radiation that has been leaked in the past week from the nuclear reactors has contaminated a lot of the food products coming out of the country. Thus, the FDA just announced on tuesday that they will not be purchasing any food from Japan that has been contaminated. They are going to step up screenings for food from Japan to ensure that the American public is not affected. Although Japanese imports only make up about 4% of our food supply, it still could affect us. Everything that happens to Japan affects the rest of the world. We are living in an interconnected world, and with more and more people spreading news on Twitter and Facebook, we are more connected to other cultures.
  This FDA inspection of food is like the community service I did. Working in the food bank, we had to reject certain foods to see if they were good or bad. This ties in to the Japanese situation right now.

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Nuclear Nourishment in Japan

  In the past week Japan has been in serious trouble. a 9.0 earthquake hit which caused a massive tsunami that devastated everything in its path, leaving thousands dead and thousands more without homes. Now, the nuclear reactors located along the shore are also in serious danger. 2 of them blew up in the past few days and are releasing massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
  Now, a huge threat is being posed with drinking water in Japan. The radiation from the nuclear reactors has poisoned some of the water in surounding areas and Iodine-131 has been found in many samples. Infants aren't advanced enough physically to handle the amount of iodine in the water and are thus being cautioned. Adults can handle the amounts and thus aren't in danger.
  this is just adding to the problems in Japan. There economy is already in the toilet and now they have to be careful of drinking water too.  The United States and other countries around the world need to rally to help Japan get back on its feet because their economy is vital to our economy as well. We rely on Japan to consume a lot of our exports, and their downfall could mean ours.

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*AMAZING*

Peyton's Language

Fragile Food Supply

As most people now know, China has the fastest growing economy in the world. In turn, this has led to an increase in the amount of food needed to keep their economy running. Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens raised the prospect of global food shortage today. He remarked that, "These price rises will be unwelcome for very poor countries who's population's spend much of their meager income on food." This is scary for much of the world's population because most people live in 3rd world countries. With the food supply running low and the population continually expanding, it will be interesting to see how our nation reacts to the news. the Reserve Bank also reported that productivity will need to move at a higher rate than ever in history to keep up with people's demand for food. This will play a huge role in our economy as prices for food, gas, and other commodities rise in the future. Hopefully we will pull through the economic downturn and refresh the prices that were held years ago.


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Green Jobs Still Waiting

With such a large unemployed population in America today, president Obama has outlined what jobs he thinks will contribute to an economic boom in the future. Many of the fields the Obama administration have recommended involve green jobs and trades relating to the environment. Some of these fields include solar installation, sustainable landscape design, and green demolition. After losing his way in the economy, Lawrence Anton decided that it was best to get training in some of these areas to help him get back into the workforce. The only problem is that all of the training he has received hasn't led to even one job offer. Obama's recommendations have Anton wondering when the changes are going to take effect. The nation as a whole is wondering when Obama's changes are going to take effect. With Congress divided in two, it is very difficult to pass legislation because it always gets shot down when sent into the other house. Americans (especially Republicans) are very skeptical about the president's motives as of now and are shooting down everything. People like Lawrence Anton, and others who are looking to work at a green job seem to be skeptical as to whether or not the green jobs will take hold. As for now they are playing the waiting game. In my opinion, Obama's administration needs to pass some quick legislation to fund green jobs ASAP.



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Silky Smooth

Although it may seem irrelevant, silk can be used for many different materials that make our world a better place. For years, spider silk has been the talk of scientists that it could one day be used to make cables that are stronger than steel. Silk also is used to make glue and many other items that people don't know about. Recently, spider silk has been used to make elctro arrays that are printed on thin flexible sheets taht could one day be used to treat epilepsy and other diseases. The only thing holding it back is the spider's ability to produce it. Although spiders can produce 5 different types of silk, they don't seem to produce a large amount of any of them. this is what has bugged scientists for years, they just don't produce enough. The main reason why is because they are meat eaters. Spider's don't eat plants, they eat other bugs. Because of this it would be impractical to ranch spiders. Silkworms and silkspiders are incredibly important to our research as Scientist Hayashi says in the article, "there's no lab in the world where somebody has an artificial silk gland." Silkworms are helping our research of fighting diseases and could help our economy a lot.

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Metal Madness

An Australian mining company called "Lynas" has just started building a new refinery for processing rare metals in Kuantan, Malaysia. For years China has held a monopoly on the crucial metals of the earth which has contributed to their vast amounts of wealth. Now, with the construction of the largest refinery for rare earth metals beginning, it could tip the balance of power to another country. The new refinery poses some serious environmental hazards to the surrounding are which has inspired controversy. Some of the metals have been known to contain radioactivity and thus could harm the environment. Although it is somewhat dangerous, I think that they need to build the refinery for economic purposes. As of now, China controls about 95% of the world's supply of rare metals. China will continue to grow and become the most powerful nation in the world if we don't tip the balance of power somehow. If rates stay the same, the new refinery will generate over 1.7$ billion in revenue per year.

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Unemployment Rates Stay Put

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have predicted that the unemployment rates will remain near 9% for the rest of the year. About 14 million Americans are out of work right now, and the number is predicted to stay there. This is a very crucial issue in the United States, as the unemployment rate is higher now than it has been in decades. One pressing matter at the heart of the issue is that of "The unemployed need not apply" This is the notion that if there is a job out there that needs to be filled, the employer typically will not hire someone who currently doesn't have a job, thus excluding 14 million people right off the bat. This is not a good sign for our economy. It is already harder than ever for unemployed people to find a job, let alone automatically be excluded for the offers they are interested in. The United States needs to change this so we don't fall into deeper crisis than we already are.

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Jerry Brown Bears Down

For over 2 months now Jerry Brown has been trying to push his plan through the California legislature. Brown's plan would deal out over $12 billion in taxes in order to get California out of it's severe budget crisis. Brown was quick to point out that these taxes are "extensions" of taxes that Californians already pay. They wouldn't be dealing with new payments, just an increase in the amount of money paid on taxes already in place.  Democrat of the California State Senate, Darrell Steinberg, said "Most of the surveys we review say essentially the same thing: If the people believe that this is a fair solution and that it actually has the real possibility of putting the fiscal crisis behind us, that they will support it." This says to me that Californian's are fed up with the budget and are finally willing to pay more taxes to ge us out of the deficit. These tough economic times have been very hard for people below the poverty line in California and the United States as a whole. It will be interesting to see if Brown's plan passes through the legislature in the coming weeks.

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Healthcare Dilemma

My political views fall somewhere around the center left and thus, I am on the Democrats side on the issue of national healthcare. After watching the Michael Moore's Sicko, I honestly felt mad at our government for not helping out our citizens. The United States is currently 37th in the world in the World's Healthcare Rankings. This is very low, considering we are the world's greatest superpower. The Republican's don't want to create a system of national healthcare in America because of evidence in other countries how it has failed. They believe that it would lead to ineffeciency's in other areas and possibly a lack of quality. This is ridiculous because of so many country's where it has worked, i.e. Canada, France, England, and many others. I think Republicans are mostly opposed to the idea of a system of national healthcare because of the notion of higher taxes. The central idea behind Republican policy is to cut taxes, and creating a healthcare system would raise them. Even so, I think it is totally necessary to maintain our status as the world's superpower. A system of healthcare would benefit the poorer population of America and help them get treated. It would also create a larger market and create jobs for thousands of people across the nation. America needs to move forward along with the rest of the world, and the first step is creating a national healthcare system. It will be interesting to see if the speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, will push to repeal the healthcare reform bills Obama already established.
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Republicans

Strengths:
-More freedoms
-Capitalism means greater opportunity to make money
-less taxation
-More stable, conservative approach

Weaknesses:
-Unequal distribution of wealth
-The rich get richer and the poor get poorer
-Less diversity
-Slower to acknowledge change when its needed

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My Political view

Democrats

Strengths:
-help out a larger number of people
-encourage diversity
-more taxation means better services for people
-more government interference to stabilize and help more people
-Everyone is represented

Weaknesses:
-More government interference could mean less rights and freedoms
-more taxation
-Less opportunity to make it big/ rags to riches
-Spread of Wealth to more people

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Your Turn Boehner

New Speaker of the house, John Boehner is as confident as ever about the new year. As America continues to battle the deficit and trillions of dollars in debt, Boehner says he'll do everything he can to cut spending. He recently stated, "I have no doubt in the coming weeks and months that people will see our resolve around solving our deficit problem" With the Republican party now having the majority in the House of Representatives, it will be much easier for them to push their agenda. Whether or not this will have a good impact on our economy is yet to be seen, but I feel secure in our president's hands. It will be interesting to see if the House of Representatives tries to repeal what Obama has established and if they can work together to get America headed in the right direction. With unemployment at its highest rate in decades, we need a change sooner than later.

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Trying Tuition

College tuition seems to be rising every year to keep up with the economic downturn. The rise in prices has had a negative impact on the less wealthy people trying to send their kids to college. Because of less people being able to afford tuition, some colleges have decided to lower the costs to get more applicants. One of these colleges is a liberal arts school called "Sewanee" located in Tennessee. They have lowered the cost of tuition by 10% to compete with other schools. The Vice Chancellor at Sewanee remarked, "The University has made a bold and perhaps risky move" The Vice Chancellor is right, as Sewanee is the first top tier liberal arts school in the country to try something like this. It's very encouraging to see that some colleges are taking into account the financial situations of many Americans in times of strife. Many people in the United States don't have enough money to pay for college, and schools will have to adjust their prices in order to account for them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/education/edlife/17tuition.html?ref=us

Ill Illinois

Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn is being faced with some very difficult decisions lately. He was forced to raise tax rates on income less than a month ago and now has to make severe budget cuts to the states vital programs including hospitals and schools. The state's deficit is about $15 billion, and it is mandatory that they cut back spending. Some of the cuts Quinn has made are controversial though, as the Illinois Hospital Association immediately stated that this could mean , "A devestating impact on the well-being of hundreds of thousands of Illinoisians and the financial stability of many hospitals" The fact is that all state's are going to have to cut back because of the economic situation we are in. Although this could affect many people of poverty and low incomes in the US, it is necessary to keep our country on the right track.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/17illinois.html?_r=1&ref=us