Comedian David Cross's take on Conservatives

Airport Attitude Adjustment

American airports were criticized by European officials today because of over security. The chairman of British Airways, Martin Broughton, remarked that the U.S procedures of taking off your shoes and taking laptops out of their bags. Executives also complained about the long screening times and drawn out process of getting in and out of the airport.

This seems like a reasonable argument, but we had a bomber try and fail on Christmas day just last year. I know that waiting in the airport can be ridiculously long sometimes, but thats mostly because of precautions taken after the bombing of 9/11. That was one of the worst events ever to happen in American history. If we were to go back on all of the precautions implemented after the attack we might leave ourselves prone to another. Now we are looking to implant full body scanners at airports to really crackdown. I believe its our duty to comply with airport regulations even if they are a hassle, for our safety and general welfare.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/business/global/28air.html?_r=1&hp

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Obama recently went on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart for the first time since he became president almost 2 years ago. He remarked that “When we promised during the campaign change you can believe in, it wasn’t change you can believe in in 18 months. It was change you can believe in but were going to have to work for it.” Obama recently set into motion his healthcare bill, and has started regulations on automobile emissions to help out the environment. I think that Obama has been getting a lot of bad rap lately for not doing enough. But change never happens over night, and it will take years before we get our nation back on its feet. This program was a good reminder for Americans that our nation is in good hands and that we did the right thing by voting Barack Obama into office.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/obama-jon-stewart-and-change/?hp

Is Prop 19 Going Too Far?

With the November elections coming closer and closer Prop 19 has become one of the hottest issues on the California ballot. We know that, if passed, Prop 19 would bring our state billions of dollars a year and essentially bring us out of a recession. But is it really the right move? Not even Amsterdam has Marijuana laws this lenient. If passed, California would be the only nation/state in the world to legalize the sale, and smoking of marijuana from production to consumption. This article raises some interesting questions. Although it sounds like a great idea to pass Prop 19, everything might not go as planned. Marijuana also would impede many Californians driving and could lead to more accidents.

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/10/25/countries-that-come-close-to-california-s-marijuana-legalizing-dreams.html

YES WE CAN

Today, Barack Obama announced a new set of regulations for heavy vehicles. After months of waiting for some form of legislation on the new green policy, we finally have something tangible in place. The federal government had to make the legislation because Congress wasn't getting it done. Obama remarked that this is part of his "bite size" approach to going green. The new rules will require a 20% reduction of emissions for heavy vehicles made in the next 6 years.

This is a huge victory for our country as a whole. After talking about going green for years now, we finally have made it a point to follow through with it. I think this will definitely make Obama's approval rating go up and make people realize that he's doing a fine job in the Whitehouse.

This bill will also help our nation's economy says the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, "Over all, this program will save $41 billion and much of it will stay home in the U.S. economy rather than paying for imported oil.” This is a win for everyone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/business/26trucks.html?ref=business

Mental Health Break

YES

See No Evil, Speak No Evil

Sometimes we take our rights and freedoms in the US for granted. In many other countries people don't have the freedom of speech and the press. China, for example has harsh laws governing what people say, publish and even search for on the internet. It doesn't look like its going to get any better either. Although many have tried to push for a decrease of censorship in China, all attempts have failed. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo, launched a harsh attack on the communist leaders of China on censorship. The general feelin is that China will resist change. After all, their system has worked as they are the most powerful nation in the world. But is it worth having less rights and freedoms?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/world/asia/15china.html?ref=world

My Results

The Quiz

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative

Conservative/Progressive score: 6
You are a social moderate. You think the progressive movement is overall well meaning, but sometimes it goes too far. On issues like abortion and affirmative action, you see the negatives of both extremes on the issue. You probably value religion, but at the same time you think it should still stay separate from the government

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 12
You're a Social Capitalist, you think that, left to its own, Capitalism leaves a lot of people behind. You think that Health Care should be free to all, that the minimum wage should be raised, and that the government should provide jobs to all that are capable of having them. You likely hated the Bush tax cuts, and believe that the middle class has gotten poorer, and the rich have gotten richer over the past several years. The far extreme of social capitalism is socialism.

Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 4
You're a Moderate. You think that we all have certain inalienable rights that must be protected, but that sometimes laws need to be made to protect the majority's lives or quality of lives. You might think that the 2nd amendment isn't necessary anymore because letting everyone a gun is extremely dangerous to the community. You might also be against illegal drug use or public pornography because of its possible harmful effects to society.

Pacifist/Militarist score: 7
You're a Moderate. You think that in very rare occasions, the United States should invade a country in order to make the world better by spreading democracy or ending a tyrants rule. You also think that defense is very important, and we shouldn't lower the defense budget. You think that, while the Iraq War probably was a mistake, that we can make the world a better place by sticking with it and spreading democracy in the middle east.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Democrat

Indian Gold Rush

With over 1 billion people, India has potentially one of the most successfull economies in the world. Although they are riddled with poverty, their stock market has boomed over the past few months. Just in the month of September, American investors poured in $7.1 billion to the Indian stock market. Investors were skeptical after 2008 when the American stock market failed. After the crash, Americans withdrew nearly $5 billion from the Indian market. Now, their stock market is back, and thriving. 50 years ago, America was on the top of the pile, but as we move forward more and more countries are at the top. With developed countries pouring  money into underdeveloped countries, the gap between rich and poor is becoming smaller and smaller, thus, contributing to the "flattening" of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/business/global/14indiastox.html?ref=business

Modern Day Dustbowl

An estimated 50,000 more families have migrated

from rural areas this year due to drought.

Global warming seems to be having its effects in the Middle East. With sandstorms and abandoned farlands becoming more and more common, countries in the Middle East are becoming somewhat of a wasteland. Already, ravaged by years of war, this is adding to the negative impact on the environment there. A 48 year old farmer named Ahmed Abdullah reflected, “I had 400 acres of wheat, and now it’s all desert. We were forced to flee. Now we are at less than zero — no money, no job, no hope.” Even though Syria, and Iran were never thriving centers for agriculture in the first place, the continuous droughts and sandstorms have made them even less of a powerhouse.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/world/middleeast/14syria.html?hp

FREEDOM

After 2 months underground, the Chilean miners are finally being rescued.It was rumored that they would be stranded until the end of the year, but thanks to new technology they were rescued early. A 2 foot wide, red, white, and blue capsule has hoisted the miners to safety. When the 17th miner made it to the surface, he got down on his knees he raised the flag of his favorite soccer team. The goal is to get all of the 33 miners out by the end of the day.

One of Latin America's most conservative billionaire's, Mr. Piniera, said “We hope that with the help of God, this epic will end in a happy way,”.We wish our best of luck to the miners and their families.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/world/americas/14chile.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp