A New Justice?

Justice John Paul Stevens is likely to announce his retirement at the end of this month. He is 90 years old and says he is not totally sure if he is ready to retire but wants to make a decision soon as to what he will do so he will have peace of mind. This announcement would help Obama shape the nation's highest court. This would be lasting for the Democrats because of the fact that Supreme Court Justices are justices for life. The top three contendors for the new seat were all nominee finalists when Sotomayor gained the seat recently.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/05/stevens.supreme.court/index.html

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018311367

Millions to Tennessee and Delaware

Delaware will recieve $100 million dollars and Tennessee will recieve $500 million for their education. They will recieve the funds through the "race to the top" program. This provides money to states that agree to and make plans to reform thier education system to the national government's standards. The states must make plans to turn around low-standard schools, adopt college and career ready standards, and using data systems to support achievement. It is great that our education system is being reformed in this way but I think that the national government might be getting a little bit too involved.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/29/schools.funding/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/education-funding-delaware-tennessee-win-stimulus-money-schools/story?id=10232553

A New START

Russia and the United States reached a new arms treaty today. This will last ten years and replaces the other START treaties that have been created since the Cold War. Nuclear weapons will be cut by one-third by both countries. I don't see this as doing much considering the fact that each country could destroy the world multiple times over. So reducing the number of weapons by one-third is just saying that we can destroy the world just a few less times. However, the symbolic effects of this treaty may be more far reaching.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/26/start.treaty/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-cirincione/the-start-of-a-new-obama_b_515305.html

Almost There?

The same form of the health care bill has passed both the House and the Senate...finally. But this doesn't mean the bill becomes law yet. The House proposed a reconciliation bill with a few changes. So once President Obama signs the bill the Senate just has to agree as well. This is not as easy as it sounds though. Republicans in the Senate have said they will do anything to make sure the bill doesn't pass. This really angers me...can't we work together anymore instead of being so separate and stuck in our own ways?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/22/senate.health.care.ahead/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/22/health.care.main/index.html

Turning the Tide

Democratic Senator Dennis Kucinich changed his "no" vote on the healthcare bill to "yes". He is the first Democratic congressman to change his vote after originally voting against its passage. This mat indicate that the changes in the bill might finally be changing opinions. This is a very important vote because every one will count when the new form of the bill gets voted on.

www.abcnews.go.com/WN/HealthCare/health-caredennis

www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/17

No More Misleading Census Mailings

The House recently passed legislation that banned misleading census mailings. This became an issue because of complaints that Republicans were sending fundraising letters using the census name. Republicans deny this accusation and say they will continue to comply with new laws. This legislation is very necessary because misleading mailings could cause people to not fill out the actual census form. If this occured, it would cost the federal government more money because census workers would have to be sent to more houses.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/ns/politics

http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index.html

Education Reform In America

The Secretary of Education says that the United States is falling behind the world in education. I strongly agree with this and am pleased that the Obama administration is planning on doing something abou this shortcoming. There are a wide variety of changes that will hopefully take place. One is holding school districts and the states accountable for low-performing schools instead of only the school itself. Also, states will be given more flexibilty on how to spend federal dollars as long as the money is being spent to "improve the outcome of students." I hope these reforms take place quicly because education is such an important aspect in our world.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/17/duncan.no.child/index.html

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1972820,00.html

Grassroot Campaigns Save the Day Once Again

Many thought the Healthcare Reform Bill was dead but once again grassroots campaigning put it back on the agenda. However, this still does not ensure its passage as CNN's recent poll indicates. 100 Representatives were asked how they would vote on the bill and so far the bill would pass. However, this is assuming that the undecided members voted yes. Plus, 29 are yet to respond. Therefore, most of the undecided members would have to cast their vote in favor of the bill. Only 38 Democratic no votes are needed to kill the bill and 27 of these are already in place so only 11 more are needed. This number is very likely to come up and I think that the bill will once again fail without major changes.

hthttp://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/16/house.vote.count/index.html?hpt=Sbin
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/16/house.vote.count/index.html?hpt=Sbin

No More Guantanamo?

Top Republicans in the House are wanting to debate a plan that will move the prisoners in Gunatanamo Bay to a prison in Illinois. This will cost $500 million because the prison in Illinois is unihabitited and would have to be rehabilitated before the prisoners are moved. I see how it may be slightly more convenient to have the prisoners in the States but I don't believe it is worth it to spend this great deal of money.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/14/guantanamo.bay/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/07/AR2010030703337.html

No More Guantanamo?

ooops! I accidently pushed publish before I wrote anything :)

Deficit Debates Need to Begin

Deficit debates need to begin as soon as possible in my opinion because so many Americans are concerned about the enormous debt our country is currently in. House minority leader John Boehner agrees and says possible solutions need to be brought up prior to midterm elections. This way Americans can take the federal deficit into account and they can vote for candidates who they believe will help balance this budget. I agree that this is an important and pressing issue especially because the deficit is not sustainable and is predicted to increase.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/03/boehner-let-the-deficit-debates-begin/?hpt=Sbin&fbid=gaEPWybFL_V
http://imarketnews.com/node/9687

Extended Patriot Act

President Obama signed a one year extension on the Patriot Act that was passed shortly after Spetember 11, 2001. This act increases the government's ability to monitor Americans for public security reasons. Phones will continue to be allowed to be wire tapped and the government will be able to seize records and property. The House easily passed this but the Senate made slight changes that gave criminals more rights before voting for it.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmao3Tg9nvBQeAOMAVzmeZkrmAoAD9E4QD501

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/27/obama-signs-year-extension-patriot-act/

Hillary to Chile

Hillary Clinton is heading on a five-nation trek to Latin America. She is certainly going to Chile after the earthquake and this might help the Democrats public image showing that they care. However, her main purpose is to build support for penalties against Iran. She will mainly be visiting countries that are voting member on the UN security council and try to persuade them to vote for action against Iran. I believe it is a positive thing for the United States to share our views with others but only to a certain degree. If each nation thought like we did I am pretty sure thingfs would b worse off than they are now.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/28/clinton-heading-latin-america-chile-quake/litics/2010/02/28/clinton-heading-latin-america-chile-quake/

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0228/Hillary-Clinton-to-discuss-Iran-s-nuclear-program-on-Latin-America-trip

A New Speaker?

Republican John Boehner is beginning to imagine what it would be like to be the Speaker of the House. This is not too far from becoming reality because the Republicans could very likely become the majority party in the House of Reps. If this happens the current Speaker of teh House, Harry Reid, will have to give up his spot to the current minority leader, Boehner. Boehner promises that the House will be run differently from not only how it is being run now but also how past Republicans have run it. This is easy to say and everyone seems to say this but it is much harder to do. So we will have to wait and see what actually happens.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/26/boehner-imagines-being-speaker/?fbid=gaEPWybFL_V&hpt=Sbin

http://johnboehner.house.gov/

Census Time
Americans are being urged to fill out one of the shortest census forms ever this year so an acuurate count can take place. The census is so important because the results are used to determine how to allocate $400 billion federal dollars. However, getting an accurate cound is much more difficult than it may sound. Illegal immigrants often don't fill out the form because they fear they will be found out and send back to their home country. This thought is incorrect though becuase all the information collected in confidential. I just hope that this census can take place cheaply but accurately. I see the importance of it but I also notice that it costs around $15 billion. If we spend this much, it better be done well and accurately. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/26/census.redistricting/index.html?hpt=Sbinhttp://2010.census.gov/2010census/

Bad News for the Housing Industry

In January, sales of new US homes dropped to a record low of 309,000 units. This was an 11.2% drop since last month and quite suprising to economists who thought sales would rebound like they had slightly over the previous months. Economists believe this drop could have occured because of the withdrawl of government support programs. This seems to show that the econmy is not improving even though some indicators are up. I guess we will just have to give it a bit more time and realize that the economy is probably never going to rebound to the level it was at before this drop. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/24/new-homes-sales-plunged-record-low-january/http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/24/real_estate/new_home_sales_January/index.htm?hpt=T2

More Money For Education

The Obama administrtion recently proposed a bill that would give more money to states with poor children who are suggling. However, the money will not just be handed out. Each state will have to come up with a plan as to where and how the money will be spent. Many people see this as socialism, but I see this as a necessary step to keep up with today's world. This will help us stay competitive by allowing children to be prepared for college or a career after high school. In addition, the Federal government is allowing the states to come up with their own plan.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Obama-Confers-with-US-Governors-on-Economy-Health-Care-and-Education-84981862.htmlhttp://blog.al.com/sweethome/2010/02/from_todays_paper_gov_bob_rile.html

Does Iran Have Nuclear Weapons?

71% of Americans believe that Iran has nuclear weapons even though Iran's Supreme Leader says they arn't seeking or believe in nuclear weapons. Americans not only think Iran is harboring and/or creating weapons but also think there should be immediate economic and diplomatic ations taken to stop Iran. I see two problems with these opinions. First, not near 71% of Americans even watch the news or have the ability to make an informed decision about Iran. Second, Americans want taxes and the deficit to decrease but call for immediate acton in situations like this. Tax cuts and action can not take place simultaneously with deficit dcreases.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/19/cnn-poll-american-believe-iran-has-nuclear-weapons/?hpt=Sbin&fbid=qj-rN7xM3l6http://www.cfr.org/publication/21506/strategy_for_iran.html

Helping the Housing Industry

President Obama is announcing a new bill that will designate $1.5 billion to fund local housing angencies in the five states that are hit hardest from the recession. California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona have seen declines in their housing markets of atleast 20%. Obama will be announcing this bill in Nevada because he wants to support Reid and boost his chance at success. Reid is a Democrat who has the potential to change the balance of power in Congress but is currently trailing behind Republican opponents. If this bill is a success and Obama is able to show that Reid had something to do with its success, I see a brighter future for the Democrats.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35476054/ns/business-real_estate/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/rundown---021910.html?wprss=44

A Happy Reunion

President Obama met with the Dalai Lama on Thursday to encourage him and praise his goals for the Tibetan people. Obama was very supportive of the Dalai Lama's want to preserve Tibet's unique culture and identity. However, the two were forced to meet in secrecy without the press because of China's discontent with the issue. China sees the Dalai Lama as a separtist who seeks to overthrow. But this did not stop president Obama and I believe this decision will make Americans look highly upon him for standing up for what he thought was best.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35456043/ns/politics-white_house/http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/18/obama.dalailama/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Change in The House

Eight Democrats in the House have now announced that they are retiring. This is suprising, but most of all would make any true Democrat begin to worry. Instead of (alomst) automatically winning these seats again because of incumbancy advantage, Democrats will have to battle for open seats. Unfortunately, some of the areas these representatives were from are conservative. Plus, the party that is not in the White House often wins more seats at mid-term elections without having so many open seats. If I were a Democrat in the House, I would be very interested in passing legislation that would make the democrats look good. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/12/house.retirements/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/11/patrick.kennedy.congress/index.html

Are Americans Happy with Government?

According to recent polls, Americans are not happy with what the government has been doing. 52% think Obama should not get a second term because there has not been change like he has promised. I say, look at what he has done and ask yourself can anyone just turn a country around on his own in 2 short years? People need to be patient and realize that being the president is difficult and you can't just do what you say or even truly want. Plus, shouldn't Americans recognize that things havn't gotten terribly worse?
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/17/why-are-some-obama-08-blue-states-turning-red-again/http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/11/midterm.primary.dates.map/index.html

Democrats May Have Given Up Their Chance
As Democrats are beginning to look over their last year or so, they are beginning to realize that they may be a major reason why the healthcare reform bill failed to pass. Many people thought that it was just because the Republicans opposed it so much. However, now it seems that debates within the party and Obama giving too much freedom to insiders' deal making, may have been a major issue. I agree that these could have contributed to dissatisfaction with the bill, but I also believe that the bill still wouldn't have passed if the Democrats did have it all together.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35183382/ns/politics-health_care_reform/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35126009/ns/politics-health_care_reform/

No More 9/11's
According to Vic President Joseph Biden, it is highly unlikely that there would be another major terrorist attack like the one that occurred on September 11, 2001. However, this doesn't mean that there won't be any smaller attempts like the one that took place on Christmas day this past year. Terrorist groups have just seed to change their direction and attempted smaller attacks. So far, these smaller attacks have proved unsuccessful and this will prove very good for the Democrats as midterms near. This also gives Americans a sense of security because US security and intelligence is doing their job very well.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/11/biden.terror.assessment/index.html?hpt=Sbin
http://www.dallasblog.com/201002111006121/dallas-blog/fortune-teller-biden-predicts-more-terror-attacks.html

No Reelection

Congressman Patrick Kennedy announced that he will not be running for reelection. He stated that his life was going in a different direction and wants to help thse struggling with addictions, depression, and autism. This withdrawl could be harmful for the Democrats because they could loose this seat; with what happened in Massachusetts anything is possible. If he ran again, he would likely win because of the high releection rate for incumbants but now I see the likelyhood of a Republican taking his seat as very high. Especially because this is a midterm election and Obama is a Democrat.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/11/patrick.kennedy.congress/index.html?hpt=Sbin
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/11/florida-gop-congressman-to-retire

Hard Work For Nothing?
President Obama called for talks with Republicans about the health care bill that he has worked so hard for since he has been elected into office. I am happy that Obama is bringing up this subject again because for a while I thought he would just let it die and turn his focus to the economy. However, I am glad to see that he has not given up even after the Democrats no longer hold enough seats to pass he bill (since Republican Scott Brown won Massachusetts.)
The Democrats are unanimously opposing the bill because they say it is a government takeover of healthcare. However, they still see that reform is needed and are calling for smaller steps. But I doubt these steps will make any difference and instead am rooting for Obama's plan to pass so real reform can take place.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/04/obama.health.care/index.html?hpt=Sbin
http://www.statcrunch.com/5.0/viewreport.php?reportid=10228

A Hardened GOP

Republicans were not very welcoming when Obama invited them to discuss the health care bill again. I find this very discouraging and feel that the leaders of this country look out for little more than there own interests or interests of solely their party. I feel that president Obama is simply trying to solve a longstanding problem by working with together with other members of Congress. However, members on both sides of the party are unwilling to compromise and talk in any direction and therefore nothing is getting done about this problem. The sad thing is, the schism in our government is affecting every aspect of politics and life, not only health care reform.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35296874/ns/politics-health_care_reform/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35292286/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/

President Obama has revlealed a new budget that, if succeeds, will accomplish the two main problems this nations is facing economically: the weak economy and the expanding defecit. This package includes tax cuts (especially for small businesses), some sort of health care plan, investments in green technology for the future, and infrastructure programs. The hope is that these measures will create more jobs while not increasing the deficit. I am not sure how successful this will be but I am very happy that a plan is beginning to take form.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/01/news/economy/Obama_budget/index.htm?cnn=yes&hpt=Sbin
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/State_of_the_Union/obama-2011-budget-tax-proposals-president

Coorporate Campaign Spending Increases Allowed By Supreme Court

The Supreme Court decided to ease the restrictions on corporate, union, and non-profit campaign spending. I feel that this is doing nothing but going against what America is meant to be: a place where everyone has a right to have their voice be heard. Instead, the wealthy and elite are gaining more influence in ways like these. Special interest groups and lobbyists are getting more power in Washington because they can give larger contributions to congressmen. Since money speaks, the wealthy will be more likely to get their way. Meanwhile, the influence of average Americans will decrease because they will be unable to afford to give more funds to favored candidates. This ruling goes against the Federal Election Commission.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/campaign.finance.ruling/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://www.fec.gov/law/law.shtml

Slight Shift in Focus

President Obama feels he needs to slightly change his focus and put more emphasis on jobs and the economy. He has been attempting to do this, but the Democrat's recent defeat in Massachusetts has showed him the necessity of this task. Therefore, the economy will be the main theme of the State of the Union Address that is coming up next week. I believe that this will improve the president's public image but am unsure as to how long this improvement will last. Americans see that the economy must be turned around and I believe they will welcome his new ideas (not to mention they will probably be overjoyed to hear less about the health care plan.)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/obama.economy/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35042766/ns/politics-washington_post/

Republican Massachusetts?

That's right! The impossible may happen in this very liberal state. A special election is being held to fill Edward Kennedy's seat and as of now, the race is deadlocked. This is a truly remarkable phenomena because a Republican has not won a seat in Massachusetts' Senate since 1972 and in 2008, a Obama beat McCain by 26%. However, the effects of Scott Brown (the Republican nominee) winning the Senate seat could not only be an anomaly. It could also give the Republicans enough votes to kill President Obama's healthcare plan.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/15/massachusetts.senate/index.html
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2010/senate_race/

House More Liked Than Senate

Overall, Americans don't have a strong negative or positive feeling about the Health Care Bill. However, over half do approve of some sort of bill and they do seem to approve of the House's bill more than the Senate's. This shows a liberal view because the House's plan would be to tax based on the amount of income one recieves. Since, the House bill is liberal, I believe Obama would agree closely with it and this could improve the images of many Congressman in the House. Since over half of Americans agree with a bill, Congressman can gain support from voters by voting for the bill because they can say, "I worked with the president."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/14/health.care.poll/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/health-care-reform-dummies/story?id=9564802

Bad News For Obama

Democrats are likely to loose their majority in the Senate at the end of this year due to retirees and the fact that the president's party often looses seats in the House and Senate at the mid-term elections. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan have both announced that they will be stepping down at the end of this year. This makes it nearly impossible for Democrats to maintain the majority they need to pass Obama's legislation. Currently, the Democrats have 60 seats which is the minimum amount for passing legislation. If the number drops below 60, Obama's plans are unlikely to pass without major support from minority parties.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/06/senate.power.balance/index.html
http://www.zimbio.com/v05gEZAbmuF/Reid+Pelosi+Senate+Democratic+Leaders+Mark/eOuyHqIWaUZ/James+Clyburn

We could be seeing even more adds about candidates this year during the Super Bowl and leading up to election season. The Supreme Court is considering allowing unions and large corporations to pour money into elections. I believe this is going against what America has become to be known as. This can be seen because the Tillman Act and McCain-Feingold Act were put in place to control campaign spending and make every voice equally heard. All people are supposed to be able to make their opinion known equally regardless of the amount of money they have. If this law passes, then certain groups of people would be disproportionally heard. This would lead to our country being controlled by a small group of people even more so than it is now.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34793443/ns/politics/

http://www.jstor.org/pss/2111193

Improving Obama's Image?

Throughout Obama's campaign he promised immigrant reform would be a priority. However, this has been sidelined because of the health care bill. But now this issue is coming up again; likely because Obama needs improved public relations in order to get his agenda passed. The newest proposal involves legalizing 11 million immigrants. This would increase consumption, raise wages, create new jobs, and generate more taxes. All of these things would also help the economy and improve President Obama's image even more. I am not sure I agree with legalizing this many immigrants but I am pretty sure that it may lead to Obama's approval by many minorities in out nation.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/07/immigration.economy/index.html

http://www.topix.com/news/immigration

Salazar Will Not Leave His Post

Senator Ken Salazar announced that he will not run for Colorado governor. He will remain in Washington instead. Even though I believe Salazar would make a fine governor I am gald with his decision for the same reason he is. When asked why he made this decision he said he wanted to do his job as Secretary of the Interior so he can implement Obama's plan for clean energy and a protected environment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34752062/ns/politics-more_politics/

http://www.doi.gov/welcome.html