Broward County Schools take a different approach.

       Broward county schools recently received the news that more students were arrested on school campuses there than in any other state district. As a result of this, Broward county schools decided to take an approach that has been taken by schools in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Baltimore, where the school will stop expelling and suspending students for non-violent crimes to keep them in schools and off the streets away from crime. The schools will offer counseling and other alternatives in order to promote a change in behavior.
       I completely agree with this move. When you think about it, when you kick kids out of school for possession of marijuana or graffiti (as mentioned in the article), you are only pushing them further into their criminal ways. What do you think they do when they are away from school? The Broward County school district is making a very smart move that will help aid these kids in the best way they possibly can. At the end of the day, if these kids wanna commit crimes, they will. However, at least the school system is trying their best to make a change for the better in the lives of these kids. If one child changes his ways and is better because of it, I feel that the move was completely worth it. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/education/seeing-the-toll-schools-revisit-zero-tolerance.html?src=recg

White House launching new ObamaCare push, as GOP sees 2014 opening

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/03/white-house-to-pitch-obamacare-after-healthcaregov-re-do/

         After much criticism and controversy,  this week President Obama will campaign for Obamacare. He will be once again selling the benefits of his creation, that has been receiving much backlash for some time. Obama comments on the fact that the website is having some difficulty doing its job, ""Tell your friends, tell your family -- do not let the initial problems with the website discourage you," Obama said. Republicans say that this last minute attempt to bring in more recipients for the program, is not confronting the main issues with the program. The Republicans are  using the issues that have occurred with Obamacare to their advantage by bringing it up in next elections. Will Obamacare be the end of the Democrats?

Biden talks Chinese president

The United States has "deep concerns" over China's newly declared East China Sea air defense zone. So this week Vice President Joe Bidden went to privately talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing.  Some of the area is  uninhabited islands between China and Japan. China has claimed an air defense zone. This has stop the trade between two countries putting ships and planes on hold. China's newly declared defense zone could spiral out of control. This effects use because we are trying to stop a potential war. The U.S. Vice President has joined Japan in rejecting the lines China has drawn in the sky.  China is literally taking over the air boundaries of neighboring countries, and the tension has begin to tighten between the countries. I feel that we need to keep communicating with China, so that they can understand what they are doing is completely wrong. If this continues I feel that it is going to get pretty ugly.




http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/world/asia/china-us-japan-tensions/index.html?hpt=po_c2

Obama loosing his younger supports?

When the national survey on the younger generation came out the turn out numbers were disappointing to President Obama.  The survey included the question asking people from the ages of 18-29 whether or not they planned on signing up for ACA, better known as Obamacare. Only 22% of the younger generation planned on signing up for this new health care and 29% of those do not have health care at all.  This troubling statistic has started worrying Obama's administration. Since the ACA has become active, it has not been pushing out the numbers it was originally planned to push out. It has constantly been in the press for its negativity and the constant struggles it has been facing.  In 2008, when President Obama was elected, the younger generation has been known for backing up his beliefs and enjoying him as a President. So when these numbers came out, it was surprising not only to me but I am sure to others that the younger generation wasn't in favor of him.  However, since the ACA has come out President Obama has been loosing support from his usual crowd.  With the numbers being so low in the younger generation the administration is scared that without the support this entire health care plan has the ability to completely fall apart and fail.  One of the main reasons this health care act could fail is because Americans are worried that with this new plan the quality of medical care will go down due to the low payments. Not only is the support polls low for the health care act, it is also at a record low for President Obama. His approval ratings have dropped below 45%. I am surprised that with all the negative press and the approval ratings dropping every month that the Democrats and President Obama are still sticking by this health care plan. Although re-election is not an idea that President Obama has to worry about, you have to think about the Democrats that support the ACA and that are up for re-election. Could this health care act hurt their chances at regaining office?

Fox news

Amazon Drones

Amazon.com CEO, Jeff Bezos, appeared on CBS’s show, “60 Minutes,” where he revealed his new innovation of drones that will make deliveries. He has proposed the idea of small, flying drones that can deliver small packages within a ten mile radius of one of Amazon’s distribution centers. These package-delivering drones could cut delivery times down to less than thirty minutes. Bezos said that the drones could be ready as early as 2015. However, these drones won’t be making any deliveries until approved by the FAA. Another drawback to having drones is that there are many people who would like to destroy these drones. Drones also cannot make any deliveries into apartment or condominium buildings.  A person could see a drone flying outside his house and feel uncomfortable and decide to shoot it down, because he does not want to be spied on.  Not every American citizen will be excited to see a drone flying around their house every day.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/04/drone-warfare-jeff-bezos-feds-and-media-manipulation/

Iowa Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison as a Teen Granted Parole

               A dying inmate in Iowa who had been sentenced to life without parole is now the first person in the state to have such a sentence altered. The inmate, Kristina Fetters, is suffering from late stage cancer and has been transferred to a hospice where she will regularly meet with a parole officer. She had been convicted of murder when she was only fifteen years old. This decision follows quickly after a Supreme Court decision last year that deemed life sentences without parole were illegal for minors. While this is a large step forward for the American judicial system, it’s sad that the case had to take place at all. Before this ruling, the United States was the only country that sentenced youths to die in prison. It was legal in over half of states and over 2,500 inmates are currently serving for life without parole that were sentenced as minors. The fact that this was allowed for so long shows a complete lack of responsibility from our nation’s leaders. Someone who is in their mid-teens does not possess the mental development to fully understand impulse control and consequences. This isn’t to say that they should be exempt from severe punishment. But to be destined to a life and death in jail while still just a kid is disgusting.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/03/us-usa-inmate-iowa-idUSBRE9B20ZY20131203 

Guns Blazing Over Advertisements

     In 2010, Alan Korwin, an owner of a gun-safety business, filed a lawsuit after 50 of his paid advertisements had been removed from Phoenix owned bus stops.  Mr. Korwin explains that the ad was simply to “educate the public, spread firearm training and safety information as broadly as possible.” The advertisement has a large blue heart with a bold text in the middle that says "guns stop crime".  Although underneath this bold statement, it advertises gun safety classes.  Mr. Korwin is arguing that his freedom of speech is been violated by this removal; however, the city officials claim that the writing "guns stop crime" is considered political speech.  The verdict of this case is currently unknown, but Judge Patricia K. Noris assures that the court will issue their decision as soon as possible.  

    I do not understand why such a big deal was made over these advertisements.  In the city's defense, politically charged advertisements are not permissable, but I have a hard time understanding exactly how this advertisement for his business is political.  Sure, it says that "guns save lives," but that sounds like nothing more than a catchy slogan to me (considering that his business is dealing with guns and safety)  In my opinion, advertising gun safety is a smart thing to do considering that Arizona eliminated permit requirements for concealed weapons in 2010.  Ultimately, they simply cannot allow for religious posters yet deny this man's business advertisement.  As he argues, doing so is restricting his freedom of speech- which governs far above the laws in Phoenix.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/us/case-over-gun-safety-ads-fosters-unlikely-alliance.html?ref=politics&_r=0

Obamacare faces yet another challenge.

An article from Fox News reports that last Tuesday Obamacare faced another legal challenge in federal court. According to the article, a group of business owners and individuals pushed back against the IRS regulation that is challenged as both unlawful and potentially crippling. It is stated that, "The regulation, which stems from the ACA, defines which applicants are eligible for subsidies in connection with obtaining health care coverage. It's a significant distinction, because those subsidies trigger massive employer and individual obligations in the states where they are awarded." The Plaintiffs argue that the text of the law says that the subsidies that go out to insurance are only suppose to be given out in states that have set up their own state exchanges and not into the states where the federal government is the one making the exchange. The IRS disagrees and according to their interpretation those subsidies go to applicants in every state. This is a very important distinction because based upon where these subsidies are rewarded the employers would have to pay costly mandates they would not have otherwise. The plaintiffs are suing because those cost will force them to cut pay and let go of employees and possibly run them out of business. They believe that the IRS is acting out on orders made by the White House.

 This brings a lot of buzz onto Capitol Hill. The House had a hearing in which they discussed the Presidential power and he may have too much power. Being that we just learned about the court system and wrote a paper about the power of the President I took an interest to this article. Shannon Bream discussed how President Obama does not always enforce laws that seem proper, such as immigration laws, but how he made significant changes to Obamacare. No matter who is President, this sets a dangerous precedent. Having a President with too much power could threaten individual liberty, which is one of the values the United States is based on. Any President that has too much power is scary and hopefully Americans won't see an increase in power through the course of the coming years and different presidencies. 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/04/obamacare-faces-another-challenge-in-federal-court/

Obama launches promotion of health care law’s benefits

HealthCare.gov "launched" on October 1st and since then, there have been many problems regarding it and the Affordable Care Act in general.  For one the site has barely functioned due to a ton of technical issues and the site being launched even though it was still far from being completed.  And two many Americans have been upset about not being able to keep their current insurance plans.  But now according to Obama and the Democratic Party these problems have been resolved and they "plan to hold daily events highlighting the law until" the mandatory sign up date on December 23.  In response to this the Republican Party and the group The Americans for Prosperity are combating against this by increasing there effort to highlight the flaws in the legislation by increasing spending on "television and radio ads, online campaigns".  These efforts will not only target the law itself but the "specific Democrats from conservative states who supported it, including Senators Mark Begich of Alaska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana".

But there are many problems with what Obama and the Democrats are saying now.  For one their fix to the problems with cancelled insurance plans was to bribe insurance companies by offering them money "as an incentive for them to let people keep insurance policies that were to have been canceled next year".  And this "solution" is only for one year so what happens after that?  Is Obama just going to go back on the promise he made while trying to get Obamacare passed that "if you have your plan and you like your plan, you will keep your plan, period"?

Health Care debacle continues...

The latest problem with the Obama Health Care plan is the subsidies for low and middle-income people.  The Congress set up the Obama Health Care plan so that only the people in states that set up the health insurance exchanges (online marketplaces where people could go to log on and browse for health plan prices, enroll in coverage, and apply for subsidies) could receive these subsidies.  But if the state did not set up the exchange and the Federal government had to come in and set up the exchange, then that state’s citizens could not receive subsidies.

Michael Carvin, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said “Time has proved that the Affordable Care Act is a highly unstable law that cannot work unless states give their cooperation “.  But Joel McElvain, an attorney representing the government, stated that the federal government meant that all qualified people, even if the federal government is setting up the exchanges, can receive subsidies.

The debate goes on.

Another battle in the court which wastes our tax money, and it makes you wonder, if the government took all the money that it spent on a faulty computer system for the exchanges and the court battles, we would have extra money to pay for health care for low income people.

The waste in the government is extraordinary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/health-care-laws-critics-see-court-case-over-subsidies-as-their-last-shot/2013/12/03/aa64ffba-5c6d-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html 

Hatocracy

Case Over Gun-Safety Ads Fosters Unlikely Alliance

 On Tuesday morning Phoenix was within its rights to remove gun ad from bus shelter ads that say “Guns Save Lives” which the city said constituted political speech. The ads is paid for by the owner of a business offering gun-safety lessons I agree that they should take this off the ads of the buses because more crimes will happen and more citizens will start using guns not just for safety but for dumb reason and will start killing people for no reason. I understand people want to protect there selves but people don't listen to rules these days. They do what they want. Guns don't stop crimes and guns don't kill people. Stupid people with guns kill people. The only way crimes and murders will go down is when people stop doing crimes. Many people feel that having a gun provides greater safety for them and their family. Actually, having a firearm in the home escalates the risk for death or injury, while using it to shoot someone who endangers the household is much less common. Guns affects the risk of death and firearm related domestic violence. Finally the consequences of a gun related violence, death, injury, disability, and dysfunction and have a powerful great impact on

society and health care system. Guns don't save lives, people save lives and by putting those ads on buses little kids will start getting guns and playing with them. They will think its okay to have one when its really not. By having a gun you will do something stupid if you have one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/us/case-over-gun-safety-ads-fosters-unlikely-alliance.html?ref=politics&_r=0

 

Closing an Education Gap

Montserrat Garibay was undocumented and it took her 20 years to become a U.S. citizen. She is currently a teacher at Houston Texas. Inspired by her personal experience and the large Latino population she has a seminar that helps “families and children navigate the bureaucracy of the immigration system.” She wants to help close the education gap where low achievement and low graduation rates are common because a diploma is worthless because a lot of these students do not have a social security number to work. She was awarded a 5,000 grant from the National Education Association and for her next workshop she hopes to fill out 300 300 citizenship applications.

                        The education is gap is a serious problem in my high school where half of the students where Mexicans many dropped out or the girls got pregnant. But, fortunately things are changing because there an increase in the amount of Hispanics going to college. The pre-schools are very helpful because children learn and practice what they learn with their siblings or neighbors. There is definitely a lot of work to be done. I hope their where workshops like in central Florida because the bureaucracy of the immigration system is very complicated and a mistake can created many problems.    

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/us/closing-a-fear-gap-so-children-can-achieve.html?ref=politics&_r=0

Is a change for Florida on the horizon?

According to Huffington Post, Charlie Crist is ahead of Rick Scott in the most recent polls. This has come with little surprise, due to the fact that Scott's approval rating has sunk since his last election victory in 2010. This may be in response of a Democratic wave surging through the country. The overall approval of the Republican party has been steadily declining this year; the process was ultimately sped up with the government shutdown. I believe there is more to it in the case of Florida, however. Rick Scott has been involved in very controversial situations in the past such as his actions with Columbia/HCA and being a venture capitalist. Floridians have also taken notice with budget cuts to education over the past few years. Overall, things are looking up for Charlie Crist and his endeavors may soon pay off. This will be Crist's second round being Governor of Florida.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/charlie-crist-rick-scott-poll_n_4317235.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

One Small Step for Equality

     During the past to weeks we have seen the effects of Hawaii, the state tht first began the argument for same-sex marriage, finally passing a law legalizing same-sex marriage. The gay marriage debate began in Hawaii 2 decades ago in 1990 when two women applied to become legally wed. The rejection of their application was ultimately shot down by the Supreme Court Decision in 1993 that not allowing them to amrry was a violation of their rights to equal protection. There had not been, however, a bill fromt he state signed into law allowing same-sex marriage. That milestone finally arrived when Governor Neil Abercrombie signed the bill into law at an invitation-only Hawaii Convention Center. The law allows gay couples living in and visiting Hawaii to get married as soon as December 2nd. Barack Obama himself praised the passage of the bill. This is not the most positive aspect of the passage of the bill, however. The main aspect of the bill that is extremely appealing to the Hawaiian economy is the significant boost that Hawaiian tourism will receive from the influx of tourists looking to get married on the island chain. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/13/governor-signs-bill-to-legalize-gay-marriage-in-hawaii/

FCC wants to Expand the E-Rate Program

The FCC’s wants to expand the E-Rate program that will provide almost universal access to high-speed broadband with an emphasis on widespread wireless capability. The desired short term goals are a minimum of 100 megabits per second per 1,000 students in all schools and for the long term 1 gigabit for the same number of students. The proposal is very ambitious and everybody wants it but the debate is how to pay for it. Currently, “schools and libraries apply for a cut of $2.25 billion in annual discounts for telecommunications services, Internet and internal connections.” They get the money from the “Universal Service Fund, created to help pay for expanded access to telecommunications services in rural and low-income areas and for schools, libraries and rural health care providers.”

            It is very important foe the country to invest in human capital so they should really try to reach a compromise. Schools have suffer a lot with all cut during the recession and this going to help improve education. It’s sad that they want this program to improve the poor and rural schools but they are ones that are less likely to apply because of the paperwork. If they already know that is going to be an issue they should also try to fix that.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/schools-internet-subsidy-education-100015.html

In an article from Fox News, it details how Republican congressman are issuing a bill to avoid basically another bailout to insurance companies. Further details indicate that the plan to help insurance companies offset losses has always been in Obamacare, but that it is now being challenged because it was not talked about and seen as something the American people would not; a "blank check for the industry" as one Congressman calls it. I would have to agree with this bill proposal. Though I would probably not be considered a Conservative by any means, I do not want in my future taxes raised further because we bailed out the insurance companies. Obama's aids and analysts should have seen this as a possible risk and should have changed something around. I do believe that healthcare should be available to all, however telling the insurance companies that they can be repaid money they are losing is like telling somebody that committed insurance fraud that they don't have to face the consequences.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/20/senators-push-bill-to-prevent-insurance-industry-bailout-over-obamacare/

House Representative Radel pleads guilty.

One of the House of Representative members is facing a disappointing, but true, headlining story.  The Republican Representative Trey Radel plead guilty to cocaine possession after he was caught buying 250 dollars worth from an undercover FBI agent.  Radel is now faced with probation for one year, 180 days in prison and a max fine of 1000 dollars. Although this is not a "serious" or felony crime it is still a misdemeanor which does not look good for our public officials. This kind of news, if it was not a Representative, would never make headlines.  But, since Radel is a public official he is held to a higher standard and these type of actions are unacceptable. He is supposed to represent the American people in a positive manner. The FBI got word from the dealer, that was earlier arrested, that his buyer was a Congressman, given that information the FBI could not let this go and needed to get to the bottom of it.  I understand that people make mistakes and having a drug addiction and/ or an alcohol addiction is a disease, it's just disappointing to hear that American's elected this man and he let us down.  Getting caught by an FBI official and being a public figure does not give a good look to himself, the House of Representatives and his family.  He is manning up and becoming a better man for himself, his wife and his young child by seeking counseling and getting help for his addiction.  As an American I hope he get's better and gets the help he needs. 

Representative gets caught with drugs

In Stance on Renewal of Old Health Policies, States Run the Gamut

   President Obama said a few days that millions of consumers should be able to keep their old insurance plans for another year, even if they did not meet the requirements of his health care law.
Obama has been finding supporters from other states although they aren't much allies in this health care plan. Four states that are led by Republican governors have opposed the health care law and eight states that also said that they will not carry out the plan six are Democratic states. The new plan is being offered under the affordable care Act require that insurers cover a wider rang of benefits than many of old plans. The insurers are prohibited from turning down people with  existing medical problems. Mr. Obama announced last week that after the political uproar  prompted by millions of consumers' receiving notices that there health plans were being discontinued because they no longer complied with the law. Many states with low numbers such cancellation were those that had let insurers temporarily avoid the laws requirements by offering early renewal of existing though next year. The goal was to smooth the transition for consumers, commissioners in those states said.
   Mike Chaney an insurance commissioner in Republican- led by Mississippi, who said "it turned out to be a good decision." He also mentioned that fewer than 500 people in his state received notice of discontinued policies because he encouraged the major insurers to offer the option of renewing for an additional year. The next thing he mentioned that insurers could have chosen to cancel policies in his state but also mentions that he would have harmed them.
Florida's largest insurer, decided to discontinue the plans of about 300,000 people including 40,000 whose coverage will end by January 1st. Now it is working to offer those customers the option of extending their plans for an additional year under president Obama's proposal. Proponents of the healthcare plan including several states that have most enthusiastically embraced it, have argued that renewing old plans will undermine the success of fledging insurance marketplace. They also asserted that some of the plans have fewer benefits than new ones devised to comply with the new law.
New York said that it did not plan to allow the estimated 100,000 canceled policies to be renewed.

DoD to Tighten Defense Contractor Cybersecurity Standards

The Department of Defense has recently tightened cybersecurity rules for its defense contractors. These contractors will have to maintain a security standard set by the DoD when handling sensitive military information. This is a step in the right direction for our nation’s military. It’s about time we prioritize cybersecurity and realize that it’s becoming one of the most important fields of defense for us to focus on. The current threats to America do not involve symmetrical warfare. The executive branch does not need to allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to aircraft that will never come face to face with a threat that is anywhere close to being on the same level of technological capability. I understand that it is important to maintain an advanced fleet and be prepared for any possibilities for the future but the amount of money we spend on new hardware is ridiculous. Meanwhile, cybersecurity is one of the most pressing threats right now and it only gets only a sliver of the defense budget. The Department of Defense functions for just that purpose, defense. So why not focus on the current threat of cyber-attacks on America? As of now the only direct attacks on the US occur online. Hackers from China and other areas are reported to be stealing important corporate and military secrets. It’s the White House’s responsibility, as well as the responsibility of DoD, to address these attacks and prepare tools to prevent them. We need to focus on attacks that are happening right now and give this issue the attention it deserves. 

Former President George W Bush appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno with his wife Laura. During the interview, he stated that his younger brother Jeb should run for the presidency in 2016. Jeb Bush served as the Florida Governor from 1999 to 2007 and he could possibly run for the GOP. Jeb Bush has not personally stated that he will be running but rumors say that he might and George W Bush said that he would make a great president. Other possible candidates that may consider running to represent the GOP in the 2016 presidential election include Chris Christie (NJ governor), Marco Rubio (FL senator), and Rand Paul (Kentucky senator).

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/20/george-w-bush-says-brother-jeb-should-run-for-president-if-wants-to/

Taxpayer money to bailout Insurance Companies?

According to a recent Fox News article, Republican senators have introduced a new bill that would prevent taxpayer money from being used to prop up the industry. Florida senator Marco Rubio, along with a half-dozen other Republican senators, introduced what they call the “ObamaCare Taxpayer Bailout Protection Act”. The article states that “It would strip a provision in the Affordable Care Act pertaining to so-called "risk corridors," which could allow the government to pay insurance companies to offset financial losses.” Senator Rubio reported to Fox News, "The idea that the federal government should be bailing out insurance companies in order to make ObamaCare work, that's not something a lot of people are aware of… And I haven't taken a poll on it, but I guarantee you it would be hugely unpopular." I agree with Rubio, the President should not be using taxpayer’s money to help bailout insurance companies because he is the main reason ObamaCare is in effect. This issue would not have arisen if there weren’t a national healthcare in place. We do not pay taxes so that the Government can bailout companies. We  should be paying taxes for things that benefit us, such as protection, education, and highways, and not using the money for things such as bailouts. Perhaps the Government should spend our taxpaying dollars to something more useful.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/20/senators-push-bill-to-prevent-insurance-industry-bailout-over-obamacare/