A few of the posts from the last two weeks were not very "government" related- Remember to find articles that are subject appropriate. While news of murders, tragedies, etc. are interesting, unless they are government-related, you will not earn the credit for the blog.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/07/politics/shutdown-showdown/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
ReplyDeleteThis article gives an in-depth description of the decision congress needs to make on whether or not the national debt ceiling should be increased. It explains that the government shut down will not be let up until Obama and the Senate Democrats make an agreement with the House Republicans.
This is kind of ridiculous, as in the article, it states that they are both fighting for the same issue but the Democrats want a longer debt limit time. Obama is refusing to even talk to any of the Republicans about the issues at hand. Even then, I don't think we should raise the debt limit for very long or very high as the main concern should not be raising the limit but yet lowering the current debt that we have.
Deletei agree with Andrew, we need to stop postponing the problem at hand and actually do something to lower the debt instead of digging ourselves a deeper hole. It seems like our government doesn't care how far we get into debt as long as we keep raising the bar we can spend. Sooner or later we aren't going to be able to pull ourselves back up.
Deletehttp://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/04/cnn-keeps-count-more-members-decide-to-donate-their-shutdown-paychecks/?hpt=po_c2
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses the majority of members in the House and Senate are and are willing to give up their paychecks during this government shutdown. Many were willing to give up their paychecks to charities or not accepting them at all. Many of the members still rely on their paychecks and aren't willing to give them up. If I was a member of congress and I knew I was financially stable, I would be willing to donate my paycheck, knowing that the money was going to a better cause.
This article surprised me, i had no clue that some congress members wouldn't accept their pay checks! i think the honorable thing to do is to take the check and donate it toward a charity, because even though they do work and get payed many other government officials have been off of work during the government shutdown.
Deleteits nice to actually hear something nice about the government every once i a while. you get to take a nice look and see not all the member money hungry political machines.I hope this continues to happen even during the struggles they are going through at this moment.
DeleteI was also somewhat surprised to hear that a majority of Congress this size is willing to either not accept their paychecks or donate them during the Government shutdown. In my personal opinion Congress is a major part of the government shutdown happening so they should give up their paychecks until they can get it resolved. They are the reason that many people with government jobs are not getting paid so they shouldn't get paid either.
Deletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57606781/government-shutdown-means-paychecks-for-federal-prisoners-not-prison-workers/
ReplyDeleteThis article is about how prison workers are not getting paid, but they still have to come into work to keep the prisoners in check. Meanwhile, the prisoners are getting paid for the work they do while in custody. The workers know they will get their paychecks eventually, but they also know that they do not know when eventually will end. They can not run on IOUs when they go to the store or have to take care of their families. It is ridiculous that federal prisoners get paid and the prison workers do not. It makes absolutely no sense and is highly aggravating that this is actually happening.
I understand that the government shutdown affects all government employees and Republicans want to make the right decision so it doesn’t go wrong in the future but their decision to go on with the shutdown is selfish. To my understanding Obama care is already signed into law so the government being shutdown makes no sense to me. All congress is doing putting all government employees at a bad position because if some of these employees were living paycheck to paycheck they are going to be in trouble.
DeleteI agree with both of these and I also think that it may not affect us directly, but the government shutdown is pretty much screwing a lot of people. For people with these jobs, they were probably only living off of that one job and now that the shutdown happened, they are not getting paid until it ends. Now they are going through rough times because their only job is not paying that person, so they have no means of buying anything and they can only use savings to try and live.
DeleteThe republicans in congress be like http://tinyurl.com/republicans-of-congress-rn
DeleteWhat the republicans are trying to do is mortally wound the affordable care act because it got sign into law so now they're all like ":(" and that's why I feel like they're not trying to talk about ending it.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57606802/nonprofit-group-to-help-out-during-lull-in-pentagon-death-benefits/
ReplyDeleteThis article is about how the government shutdown has affected military families because they can not get their benefit checks. So the Defense Department has made a new partnership with a nonprofit group to help those families out. The Fisher House Foundation has agreed to give those families the money in advance until the government can reimburse them. I think that the government did the right thing by finding a way to provide the families with those benefits that they deserve.
The Fisher House Foundation is doing a great thing by paying the families the death benefits they are guaranteed until the government can repay them during the Government Shutdown. It is difficult enough to lose a loved one but economic problems doesnt make anything easier, so the benefit checks really must be helpful during the rough times.
DeleteI too agree that what The Fisher House Foundation is a great thing. Anybody who has a government job is not to blame for the government shut down. If at least the military families who have people protecting the country can get their checks, that is the right thing to do. Military families already go through so much more than other government families because they have loved ones in the military that they should be getting their checks. Other people who had government jobs too are going through a lot, but that is no where near what military families go through on a day to day basis.
DeleteIt is very sad that a country as rich as ours has to rely on a private organization to pay families of soldiers killed while serving that same country. The shutdown may make great political news and look like the two parties are doing this to benefit their voters and hold to their positions, but the greatest impact it is having is on the personal lives of individuals. Someone who loses a son or daughter or husband or wife should have the respect and gratitude of the nation, not be held hostage to politics. I think the Congressman for that district should have to be the one to go to the home and tell them, "Sorry mom that you can't afford to bury your son the soldier. We have a ongoing political argument that is more important than that." Maybe having to see the personal side to this would help our representatives get over this shutdown.
DeleteThis government shutdown is ridiculous. It's sad to have to see the families of these soldiers suffer because our government can't settle their disputes. The fact that they still get paid whilst hard-working citizens don't receive their paychecks is pretty sad, too. It's dragging on and it's petty and selfish to put one's own political beliefs before what is best for the country.
DeleteThis just demonstrates one of the many examples of how the government shutdown is extremely selfish. The issue of not being able to give military families the benefits they were promised was thought about before the decisions were not made causing the shutdown. They knew this would happen yet still prolonged dealing with the issue of the problem at hand knowing how it would hurt others. It is sad to think our government would let people suffer at their hands especially the families of the people who have protected this country.
Deletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/meast/us-egypt-aid/index.html
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know that the U.S was still involved with anything that had to do with Egypt until I read this article. So now the U.S has aid in Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. and they were still trying to give aid to another country. No wonder our debt ceiling keeps going up and if we don’t cut all these funds we’re going to be the one left needing aid. They are they are the own country let them fend for their selves. We can help them but not at a point where we’re going out of our way.
Like Emelia said they are their own country, we should not be getting all that involved with their situations. Wedemen himself said that the Egyptians he has told that the US will be cutting off aid have responded in a positive attitude which is a good sign.
DeleteUntil we solve our own government shut down problem, it seems ridiculous to be sending money to other countries. It also seems sad that we think we have to buy friendship instead of earning it through interchanges of trade and education and tourism. Maybe our aid to these countries should be tied to specific projects or used in certain areas. If a country is lacking in food, maybe our aid should only go into improving their farming techniques and not just to buy them a one-time food shipment or more tanks and guns. That way the money that we do give would have a more long-term impact and build a more lasting partnership. As the saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Throwing handfuls of money at other countries is not going to solve their problems or make them our allies.
Deletehttp://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/10/shutdown-polls-no-winners-but-a-bigger-loser/?hpt=po_c1
ReplyDeleteThis article is related to what we have been learning and this is the polls that have been taken for the government shutdown. This article has different polls, but they all end up leading to that the people are actually mad at the Republicans more than the Democrats and Barack Obama. These polls were receiving different percentages, but most were going toward this idea. I actually think though that it is some of the surveys or polls themselves that are pushing more towards this idea.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/10/us/new-jersey-same-sex-marriage/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
ReplyDeleteThis article just goes to show us that U.S. citizens are becoming more open to ideas that in the past would have had no chance of even being over turned. A New Jersey judge rejected the states appeal to put a stop to same sex marriage. I believe this is due to the growing number of young people supporting more radical or liberal ideas like same sex marriage. I believe that perhaps the judge recognizes this and that is why he decided to bring New Jersey one step closer to same sex marriages.
I think this is good. This is still giving same sex marriage hopeful couples to be able to get married one day. This just goes to show that since there is more youth (as it seems), then states are going to allow same sex marriages.
Deletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57607019/debt-ceiling-government-shutdown-talks-finally-begin-is-the-endgame-near/ This article is basically about how talk endgame has actually began with the government shut down. They are really concerned in minimizing debt (as they should be) and right now we're only partially shutdown, so there's that. A recent poll said that 70% of Americans find the fault of the government shutdown to be republicans, as they are putting their political agenda ahead of what's good for the country (pulled that sucker right out of the article). A republican representative said that Obama needed to show his fig leaf or something in order to indicate that he was legit srs about talking about debt reduction. I really don't get why there always has to be a weird food plant leaf to indicate how the president is feeling. Olive leaf, fig leaf, banana leaf... Why can't he just be serious about things without bring stupid leaves into things.
ReplyDeleteI really like your response to this article, and I have to say that I agree with the 70% of Americans, who answered this poll, that the Republicans are to blame for the government shutdown. And to go on a small tangent about the American debt, I have to say a few things. I think that it is completely ridiculous that people are always laming Obama for the debt, when in reality, most of the money that is causing the debt to increase since Obama has taken office is just left over debt from the Bush Administration, and other previous president debts. It drives me insane how much people bash Obama, when more than half the things people say about him are lies. Tangent over. :)
Deletehttp://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/10/20903531-nbcwsj-poll-60-percent-say-fire-every-member-of-congress?lite
ReplyDeleteThis here was a poll conducted by the leading pollsters of the Democratic and Republican parties. They polls showed that about 60% of the people polled would say fire every member in congress. As for myself I would lean more towards the 40% who say not to fire everyone. If we were to fire everyone in Congress that would be a lot of experience thrown out and could lead our Congress to make some very wrong judgments. Another thing I found interesting was that as the polls went form more conservative to more liberal the amount of people saying throw everyone out lowered showing that Democrats tend to have a higher education and can see the faults in that.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/us/utah-parks-reopen/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews
ReplyDeleteThe Government is in shutdown people, so all of your national parks are closed, sad face. However, Utah here has said you know what National Park Service we want our parks open cause we make like a lot of money ($100 million) during the up coming times. So they have agreed to pay about 1.67 million to keep the parks open during the season. Another problem is that this deal only last for ten days. After that if the government is still in shutdown they say they could continue making payments until the shutdown ends. There is also the possibility the government of Utah can be repaid.
I can't find the article but I read somewhere and also heard on the news that Obama and Bahner (spelling) did have a talk. If you know anything about this guy, he is the reason the government is shut down. The house finally agreed with the President and said they'd support Obama Care but the speaker of the house (Bahner, Republican) still wants nothing to do with Obama care.
ReplyDeleteI read this somewhere too, and I cannot remember where... However, I think that how Republicans are treating this whole "Obama care" situation is childish and unnecessary. And the thing is, if it was the Democrats doing this to the Republicans, all h e double hockey sticks would break loose. However, I would not take Bahner's word for anything. Politicians are known for their lies and deception.
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