Election Post Week Two!

  No country is perfect. Even though the United States is appeared to be super awesome (which it is) we definitely have our fair share of issues that need work. The national issue that is most important to me is the economy.  There are millions of people without health insurance, something vital to humans this day and age. It scares me to see gas prices rising higher and higher as well as the price of food. And now we have this whole Wall Street problem and this isn't what America is about. Whenever I have learned about the Great Depression in school, I would always think to myself how I could have never lived through the hardship of those years as the people of that time did. So now, it scares me to think that today our economy is being  compared similarily with the economy of that time because it's so out of control.  My hope is that over the next 4-8 years of whoever is president, they help us slowly build back our economic stance so that way people won't have to worry everyday about the prices of gas or food. What fun is that?

One state issue that is important to me is abortion. I know that Virginia has the whole law about it's okay as long as you have your parents permission. Still, parents permission or not, murder is murder. There are no excuses anymore. A child is a life even he/she is not born. Even though the Supreme court said it's okay if it's in the first two trimesters, how does that make any difference about what's done?????? I would like to see someone take office in support of human life. Although, I do believe that if the baby is going to affect the mother's life, then absolutely, there should be an abortion, but just to do it because getting pregnant was an accident is not a justified reason. There needs to be stricter regulations regarding this issue.

Up until now there has only been one debate. I think that both candidates have performed very well up to this point by explaining, giving justified reasons, and making their views known. From watching the FOX news, those people seem to think that McCain "won" the first one, but I honestly, I couldn't declare a winner and because I think both candidates had their strong and weak spots. And of course FOX is going to say that because they are totally conservative. For the beginning of the debate, the candidates basically didn't talk to eachother but the the moderator, Jim Lehrer. Then they finally did and it was like whoa. Obama, to me, seemed pretty stiff for a while, making himself kind of look like an older man. They discussed all topics ranging from Iraq, to Russia, to the economy. McCain definitely proved his wide range of experience and Obama really set off his idea of helping people live their dreams. Because of the electronic media, more people get more politically involved. How could you not? I mean, election stuff is like, EVERYWHERE. But it's actually a really good thing. It's even got me more interested and I never use to like politics. Because of the electronic media, I actually have been watching the news on T.V. just because. I read the Washington Post in the morning and use to just skip to the Style section but now I find myself reading the front page stuff too because it's good information to know. The electron media does a great job playing up ads and speeches that I think it will greatly influence larger political participation and get people thinking. Not only can we find national election information on T.V and computers but also local/ state elections. The computer also plays a big role. People get really into politics on blogs (like us!) as well is it easy to access information on news websites such as CNN and C-SPAN. With the media playing such a huge role, I feel it will be difficult for anyone to say that they won't vote because they don't know what's going on. Elections must have been extremely different in the past. But for 2008, I believe the electronic media is really going to get people interested. Can't wait for the VPd debate! Thursday night at 9!

Current Event Week 1 Post

This week,  I read in the Washington Post about Sarah Palin's new staff, although one can't quite call them "new".  The liberal newspaper took no time in negatively showing her. It seems her entire new staff are all Republicans who have somehow worked directly with George W. Bush, and a couple with John McCain. Although very experienced, many Republicans are wondering whether or not this is a good idea. Some say if McCain doesn't want to be called the "third Bush term," then they've made a horribly wrong decision that could cost them votes. Other believe that who would be better for the jobs than people who have already done it before and know the routine and are aware of all the issues. To me, I think that since many people see Sarah Palin as inexperienced, they will be worried that she do anything her advisors tell her which could bring our country down further. But, some experience is better than none at all, in which Obama is described in the article to have Democrats who have never been associated with the White House as his group of insiders. If we have a president with little experience, as well as his group of insiders, then we may be in for some trouble. This is keeping me thinking about who would make a better president and making it very difficult to decide. But honestly, Obama may score some points with this one because too many people hate and despise Bush to want his same employees back in the White House. Many people are against Palin because of news reports regarding her family  and herself negatively and this may add on to the list. We'll just have to wait and see...

Week 1 Election Post

At first, I wasn't really sure whether I could call myself a liberal or conservative. My parents are registered Republicans and they have never forced their views on me. As the weeks have gone by, and I have been keeping up with the campaigns, I find myself leaning more towards Team McCain than Obama. As much as I found Obama's campaign speech to be magnificant at the end of the convention, I find McCain to be better fit and experienced to run our country, not to mention the fact that he's also Pro-Life, a huge issue of which I am strongly in favor of. Yet, I also find many issues that Obama stands for totally justified including his beliefs on getting independence from getting oil from the Middle East, as well as making education accessible to people in all classes.

 In regards to issues concerning Iraq, McCain believes that the US needs to help the people of Iraq establish a sound government and be able to safeguard their people. This includes defeating the horrible terrorist group, Al Qaeda. Obama, on the other hand, wishes to withdraw troops as soon as possible, and leave behind a "strike force" to take on the terrorists. Even though he doesn't want to finish the war, he claim that leaving is moral and right for our national security. He claims that although we have spent trillions of dollars, we are still less safe. Both views are questionable. It's with plans dealing with important issues such as this that one wishes they could see into the future and tell which one would succeed. For now though, people have to use their best opinion. As much as I would like to see this whole war over with and our troops able to come home, I believe that we started something, so now we must finish it. It's something especially hard for me to say because I have an older sister who is in the Army and stationed right now in El Paso, Texas. Although I don't think she'll be sent to Iraq, there's always the possibility. Still, she and I both now that we can't leave a job unfinished. It's like when you turn in homework and you only did half because you didn't know the rest, thus getting a bad grade. If you at least finish it though, you'll get a better grade. This is how the war may be. As long as it's ended respectfully and properly, we'll get better results than if we just quit.

For the issue of same-sex marraige, both men oppose the idea. Obama, though, is a supporter for civil unions as well as domestic partnerships. McCain has the truly opposite view. He has high opposition towards same-sex marriage as well as civil unions. He believe that America should be as it has normally been with marriage between a man and a woman. Recently, McCain showed support towards the California Marriage Protection Act, which would undo the recent decision of the California Supreme Court that allows same-sex couples to marry. Another difficult issue for me because although personally I oppose same-sex unions, I believe that people should be free to live the way they want. Also, just because they aren't husband and wife doesn't mean that they shouldn't receive the same benefits as heterosexual couples. The government can't decide what's love. For this issue, I have to side with Obama.

What will probably make my final decision on which candidate I stand for will probably the upcoming debates. Until then, though, I'm still undecided...

The First Thought...

Hi!!! This is my first post for this blog. It will consist of weekly current events as well as posts for the 2008 Election project. Woohoo! Hi Mr. Stroud! Oh! and look at the quote of the day! Sometimes, they're pretty cool. Once I become more computer savvy, I'll add more stuff.
'K Thanks Bye!