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