Yet another on this everlasting oil spill

Background: The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may have commited a crime said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder also said that they have launched a criminal and civil investigation. The investigations will cover all aspects of the spill including the death of 11 workers from the explosion and fire that started the oil leak. Holder said that there will be no rest until justice is done. If anyone is found responsible for this trajedy they must be held accountable.

Opinion: I totally agree with this investigation into this trajic but preventable oil spill. I heard on the news that they BP actually bribed the safety inspectors so they would sign them off as safe. So BP new they were breaking the laws and regulations of oil drilling just so they could more money into there bank account. Oh wait now they have an oil spill on there hands and this could potentially put them out of business. I won't be made because when you break the law you know you will be caught and you know there will be consequences.

Shrek Cup Recalls

Background: The government is recalling Shrek character cups from McDonalds due to health concerns from the material there made of. The paint on the cups contain Cadmium which can cause serious health issues. They are recalling 12 million cups nation wide. While no injuries were reported and the cadmium level in the glasses is low, long-term exposure to the metal can cause adverse health effects. Cadmium, which at high levels is a carcinogen, can cause kidney and bone damage.

Opinion: This wouldn't surprise me if these cups were made in China, but apparently the manufacturer is out of NJ. But really... How many recalls do we need before we figure it out. There is a constant recall of products it seems every week of some sort of painted product that poses a health issue. How about we figure out what paints are safe and what aren't, is it really that hard. I think companies need to start getting fined if there product is recalled because innocent peoples lives are being effected by stupid things like this.

Jail Time for Charlie Sheen

Background: According to sources close to Charlie Sheen, he is facing 30 days in jail for a misdemeanor offense of domestic abuse towards his wife Brooke Mueller. Sources also say that with good behavior he could probably only spend 15 days in Jail. He has been in and out of court since the charges started on Christmas Day. It's not been an easy spring for Sheen or Mueller. In February, Mueller entered rehab for substance abuse with Sheen seeking treatment a week later as a "preventative measure." The couple have been living in separate homes for more than a month while they "work on there marriage" and are currently sharing custody of their twin boys, Max and Bob.

Opinion: Sheen sounds like he is a rough guy with his very public and harsh divorce earlier last year and now with domestic abuse to his new wife Brooke. I think it is sad how celebrities get married like its nothing, and then end up getting divorced like 2 months later. Why even get married? This doesn't really surprise me about Charlie Sheen though he just reminds me of the wrong kind of guy that you shouldn't hang around. He seems like he is always getting into some sort of legal trouble

Last Moments on Polish Flight

Background: The last moments of that fatal Polish flight carrying there president April 10th were released today. Apparently the pilots were warned at least 8 times in 30 seconds of the danger they were facing. "Pull up. Pull up," a warning system advised pilots. "Terrain ahead. Terrain ahead." This was a flight carrying over 100 passengers including the Polish President at the time Kaczynski, everyone on board died. The president had been traveling with a Polish delegation to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the massacre of Polish prisoners of war in the village of Katyn. Some 20,000 Polish officers were executed there during World War II.

Opinion: Although the warnings and transcript makes the pilots sound like they ignored the warnings, I am sure they did everything in there power to try and keep the plane in the air. We don't know everything that happened in the plane before it crashed, just the warnings that were sounding before impact. It's sad that it just happened to carry the Polish President on his way to honor many soldiers that were killed during WWII. Its sad in itself that 100 people had to die in this crash though too.

Oil spill in gulf a big concern

Background: As the massive oil spill continues on in the Gulf of Mexico, people are wondering just how much the size of the spill affects how great of damage there is in the end. I personally think that the greater the spill, the greater the damage because as it keeps spewing out it spreads farther and farther which makes it a greater area to clean up. Before the video from BP was released, people thought that 5000 barrels a day were spilling out but now experts think that it could be 2 million gallons each day or even more. The government says that it has the right equipment to deal with the size of the spill and even a greater one. I don't think it really matters if we have the equipment to clean it up because its going to cause horrendous damage no matter what and already has so basically it doesn't even matter any more. BP has a major problem right now with this spill and they should be completely responsible for its clean up and costs.

Opinion: I don't even see the need of the governments help because this was BP's fault and only their fault. I find it absolutely ridiculous that nothing can be done quicker to slow or stop this spill. Its been weeks now and still its gushing out like crazy. Something needs to be done very soon and we as citizens better not be affected by this because we had no impact on it at all.

Agatha Packs a Punch

Background: Over the weekend areas of Central America were devastated by tropical storm Agatha. The tropical storm ravaged through Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, leaving 115 dead. Of all the countries that the storm passed through, Guatemala was hit the hardest. Emergency officials have confirmed 92 deaths as well as 59 injured, and 54 missing just in Guatemala. Around 112,000 Guatemalans have been evacuated and 29,000 are living in temporary shelters due to destruction to homes from the tropical storm. Guatemala is in a state of emergency due to massive mudslides and rapidly rising river levels. Numerous buildings and homes have been obliterated by the storm, as well as 13 bridges. In Guatemala City, a giant sink hole was created by tropical storm Agatha that swallowed up an entire intersection as well as a three story building and a house. Classes have been cancelled nationwide throughout Guatemala. In Honduras 14 deaths have been confirmed and 3,500 people have been evacuated. In El Salvador there have been 9 confirmed deaths.

Opinion: Overall, tropical storm Agatha has been quite devastating to Central America, particularly Guatemala. Now that Agatha has been downgraded from a "tropical storm" to a "tropical depression" at least the clean-up process can begin for these countries. Clean-up for most countries shouldn't be too horribly extensive, but for Guatemala it will take a massive effort to repair all of the damages done to several cities. In countries such as Honduras and El Salvador it shouldn't be too long before normalcy can return to the lives of most citizens however. The single biggest problem in terms of physical damage caused by this storm is the giant sink hole created in Guatemala City, which seems almost impossible to do anything about due to the enormous size of the hole. This hole just happens to have swallowed an entire street intersection, which is bound to cause fairly major traffic problems. Hopefully the Guatemalan government can handle this natural disaster and make the best of their resources while making repairs to their nation.

Is the Minimum Enough?

Background: Minimum wage is currently $7.25 which has recently been raised, but some people still believe this is not enough to keep full time workers on this wage above the poverty line. The United States Market-Based Economy relies on people to make money and then spend there money to keep the economy strong. It really takes down the morale of these workers when they cannot make enough money to buy the things they need like food, shelter, and clothing. With the help of tax cuts and the rise of minimum wage, millions of workers on this pay will be a able to increase the poverty line and live a happy life. Increasing the minimum wage will increase the paycheck size of these workers will in turn boost the economy because these workers will have more money to spend on consumer goods. Along with the help of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), people on minimum wage will be the best help to get our economy back on its feet and strong again. Increasing the minimum wage can also be a bad thing because it can lead to inflation of the dollar. If we let the law of supply and demand determine minimum wage then the poverty line wouldn't be so low and that wouldn't increase inflation. The increase of inflation would only hurt people in poverty because it would raise the price of a lot of other products.



Current Issues: I think that we should not increase the minimum wage because that would only increase the rate of inflation. Therefore, we should just expand EITC to more of the poor people and that would help out the poverty without interfering with the economy. If more of the poverty class would receive benefits from EITC, they would get more money because inflation would not increase. If we increase minimum wage, the dollar would decrease in value which would really put the poverty line lower. There is only a small percentage of workforce that is on minimum wage anyways, most minimum wage workers are teenagers. So increasing the minimum wage would not help out the poverty in an effective way. Recently Republicans blocked a minimum wage bill in the senate saying there is no need to raise minimum wage. Mitch McConnell the party majority leader said the GOP was opposing the motion to begin debate because the it believed the Democrats' plan did not do enough to ensure that the government would not again foot the bill for bailing out institutions deemed "too big to fail."

Issue #1- All things being unequal

Issue #3- Putting welfare to work

Weather affects search for south korean sailors

Background: 1,200-ton patrol ship was on patrol when it sank Friday at 9:45 pm. No one knows why the ship sank, so it is still under investigation. There were 104 sailors on board and 58 of those sailors have been rescued. The search for the 46 missing sailors continues in very cold temperatures and dangerous waters. It is being suspected based upon the location of the ship sinking that North Korea my have played some role in the sinking. But officials are down playing the incident and don't want to jump to conclusions.

Opinion: North and South Korea are still enemies and I think that something like this is just what either of them needs to fight the other. They need a reason and they will find one. Even if this sinking was a complete accident people in the back of their mind are still probably thinking that is was North Korea trying to sabotage them. They need to play it safe and make sure this situation doesn't turn into something bigger

D.C. shooting claims 4 victims

Background: Four people have died following a shooting Tuesday night in southern Washington D.C. A total of ten people were injured. Authorities said that there were multiple shooter that opened fire on a crowd Tuesday night. This lead to a police chase that resulted in an arrest of three men. They haven't given out any more information but they think that it might be gang related.

Opinion: This incident is just not right. People just go around shooting other people. This is too bad for the innocent people that were shot and killed. They were just around the D.C. area and then for no reason they are shot and killed. If this happens to be gang related, people in the D.C. area are not going to be happy and they might have to change something about gangs in the D.C. area.

Drowning and Traumatic Injuries Result in Trainers Death

Background: An autopsy report released Wednesday confirmed that SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau died of drowning and traumatic injuries to her spine, ribs, and head after a 12,000-pound killer whale pulled her underwater. On February 24, Brancheau was working with a whale named Tilikum at an Orlando SeaWorld, when the animal grabbed her by the pony tail and dragged her underwater. The medical officer's report says that Brancheau suffered a severed spinal cord, fractures to her jawbone, ribs, and cervical vertebra, in addition to drowning. Because of Tilikum's "aggressive nature," the rescuers weren't able to recover Brancheau's body until 40 minutes later. Tilikum has also been linked to two other deaths. In 1991, a trainer in Canada fell into the tank and was drowned by three whales, including Tilikum. Also, in 1999, the same whale was blamed for the death of a 27-year-old man who hid in the park and climbed into the whales tank after hours. Despite Brancheau's death and Tilikums storied background, the head of SeaWorld said that Tilikum "is a wonderful animal" and "will remain an active and contributing member of the team despite what happened." There has always been special precautions taken with Tilikum, due to his special size and weight. Now there will be even more special procedures put in place for trainers handling this whale.

Opinion: To me this is a very tragic loss for Sea World and its staff. It's yet another example why animals can never be tamed, they will always have that wild instinct to them to do what they were meant to do, and that is kill for food. It's also very sad that Sea World has not done anything to step in and protect the trainers from this whale especially because of the history the whale has. Its had numerous events leading up to this one that has injured trainers and put many people at risk. Fool me once shame on shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. SeaWorld should really focus on this and do what is necessary to keep the trainers safe. I say either release the whale into the ocean, or kill it so this never has to happen to a trainer again. This could have been easily prevented but it doesn't sound like SeaWorld cares if they lose a trainer.

Giant atom smasher breaks history

Background: The research team controlling the Hadron Collider Tuesday broke new ground in physics by colliding 2 beams in a massive underground tunnel on the border of Switzerland and France. The collider may help scientists discover new properties of nature. There thinking they could reveal the theoretical Higgs boson, also called "the God particle" in popular parlance, could emerge within two or three years, said Steve Myers. Evidence of super symmetry, the idea of finding hidden dimensions many physicists believe in could start up as early as 2010. Although the Hadron Collider has been plagued with many problems since the this massive experiment has started, this is the breakthrough they needed to start getting some good hard data.

Opinion: To me most of this stuff is over my head about "the God particle" and such, but this is a major break through in science. They are creating massive amounts of energy with this thing when the beams collide. It created enough energy to run every electronic and everything that uses electricity to last one and a half years. So to me this sounds like not only a major break through in physics, but a major break through in creating energy. Just think what this one major experiment could do for our future energy needs... There are still many things we would have to do to make it safe, but with technology and science these days and in the future. I'm thinking this thing will be supplying our whole world with energy in the future.

Female suicide bombers likely suspects in Moscow

Background: Officials are saying female suicide bombers detonated explosions that rocked two subway stations in central Moscow during rush hour on Monday morning, killing at least 38 people. The blast was caused by 300 to 400 grams of explosives according to Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. An estimated 500,000 people were riding trains throughout the capital at the time of the attacks and they are saying it is unclear when the train lines will be up and running again. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the "terrorists" responsible for the Moscow subway attacks Monday "will be destroyed." This attack happened in 2 different train stations but on the same train line. The two explosions where about 40 minutes apart and according to the investigation "Fragments of the suicide bombers' body found at the blast, according to preliminary findings, indicate that the bombers were from the North Caucasus region."

Opinion: This is just another clear example that no country is safe from terrorist attacks. Terrorist violence will never be stopped until everyone is an alliance with each other so every country can attack terrorism head on. Even then, I don't think terrorism will ever be stopped on this earth til the day I die. Countries can increase there security and take all the right steps towards stopping and preventing terrorism, but it will still occur regardless. Terrorists will always find a way around security because that is there job and there main goal. They are smart and will do anything possible to cause chaos in the world we live in today. It's even more sad now that they are saying women where behind these attacks, and its a clear sign terrorism is spreading to different countries and now to women.

Obama slaims insurers, demands healthcare refrom

Background: Obama went to Ohio on March 15th campaigning for his new health care reform bill that he wants so badly to pass. He said he was confident they would get the necessary votes to pass this bill. If the bill is passed and signed the reform proposal would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago. The plan is expected to extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans. The Senate bill would reduce federal deficits by about $118 billion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Republicans though said they will do all they can to stop this bill from being passed. GOP leaders have said the plan will do little to slow spiraling medical costs. They also say it will lead to higher premiums and taxes for middle-class families while resulting in deep Medicare cuts. Obama has made trips to Ohio, Missouri, and Pennsylvania and has delivered the same message through all of the states.

Opinion: I don't think socialized health care is the right thing for Americans and especially because of the way its getting passed. Obama is doing everything in is power to have this billed get passed including making some back room deals just to get his 216 votes. I think with obesity being a problem and so many other major health concerns in America, socialized health care isn't the way to fix health care in America. Especially because it makes everyone in America have some sort of health insurance. It's just another small thing the government is doing to take the freedom out of this country. They said it will over 10 years reduce the national debt because people won't have to pay for insurance and all the things insurance comes with. I sure hope they are right because if it doesn't it will be a total failure because our national debt is already high enough.

Every teacher fired at school in Rhode Island

Background: Central Falls School District in Rhode Island just announced that they were firing every teacher in the high school. Why? It's because of test scores and the amount of failing students attending there. The school board voted 5-2 on the subject, so after the end of the school year, every teacher will be out of a job. Although they said they would hire about 50% of the teachers back next year. The school is in one of the worst towns in Rhode Island with the average community income per person is $22,000. Of the 800 students, 65 percent are Hispanic, and for most of them, English is a second language. Half of the students are failing every subject, with 55 percent skilled in reading and 7 percent proficient in math, but they still made improvements over the last few years. There has been talks going on with the superintendent and the teachers and there is room for debate.

Opinion: To me it sounds like it isn't really the teachers fault here, especially in a high school. It's different when kids are learning anything in elementary because in elementary you don't have the urge to stand up to the teachers or choose not to learn, but in high school its different. Kids have attitudes and they make there own decisions on whether or not they want to learn anything. Its not the teachers fault if the kids they are trying to teach aren't learning anything. In most cases its the kids themselves that don't choose to learn. So i think the school board made the wrong decision here. Its especially hard when you are dealing with the situation the teachers are faced with... Like poverty, and Hispanics that have English as there second language. I think the school board under estimated the challenge the teachers are facing at Central Falls High.

Airstrike in Afgan kills 27 Civilians

Background: Over this past weekend NATO authorized an unjustifiable air strike that lead the the death of 27 civilian. NATO got what was supposed to be reliable Intel from an Afghan saying that there would be many Taliban leaders traveling to a destination in 3 buses. So NATO and the American commander thought this would be a perfect opportunity to take out some strong leaders. So they see on there satellites that there are 3 buses traveling, and this matched there Intel. So planes fired at the buses and took them out, when they sent people into inspect the damage, they found innocent civilians and among them four women and children. NATO apologized Monday saying the attacks were "Unjustifiable". This is the third time this has happened in Afghanistan since starting there major offensive there.

Opinion: First off, i don't understand where and who you would get reliable Intel from in of all places Afghanistan. If we don't even know who we are shooting at sometimes, why should we trust a person that says do this because i heard this was going to happen. It would be hard for me to trust any people over there besides the Americans and Afghanistan officials. Otherwise we shouldn't be relying on street Intel, and if you knew the buses where traveling somewhere, why didn't we just spy on them with the same satellites we used to locate the buses? We should have just followed them and see what happened, because if we do find out they are Taliban leaders, we could have had our jets already in the air when they find out more Intel, and still be there to strike within a minute. Plus its not like the leaders would have anywhere to hide with the kind of weapon technology America has. I think if the NATO commanders would have been a little more patient, this incident would have never happened.

War Dollars

Background: We all know we have been in war with Iraq and Afghanistan for many years now because its probably been in the news everyday. Some people don't know though, of how much has been spent on these wars. Its brought our national debt to over 12 trillion dollars with all the spending we are doing to help support the war. Some think the cause is good and the money we spent on the war has been well worth it. We have taken out many bad influential leaders out of both countries, and now in Iraq we are making great steps toward a democracy ran government over there. We are still making good progress in Afghanistan, and are fighting hard to over take Al Qaida over there. Many people believe though that the war effort is worthless though... That Congress has waisted billions of tax payer dollars which has brought made the national deficit high every year which contributes to the national debt. A lot of people believe we are doing more harm there then good which has cost many American Soldiers there lives. Congress has used power of the purse in the past to help slow down wars because they can control what war bills make it to the president. So if they feel the same and are influenced by they American people, they could really help slow down these wars and bring an end to them.

Opinion: I think that we need to pull out of Iraq with our combat troops and send help to keep setting up there government and to train Iraq troops to take over. We however need to keep fighting in Afghanistan because Al Qaida is still on the rise, and we need to take them out in there strong hold of Afghanistan. I feel our job is done in Iraq, and now we can focus more energy in Afghanistan that will in turn make the process of fighting go faster which will help the war go by faster. Then we can stop paying for 2 wars, do a great job fighting in Afghanistan, finish up there quicker which means we don't have to pay for the war as long as we need to. We can then focus on health care and social security and our economy. All the issues that we need to take care of to help our country grow stronger into the future. President Obama now is sending up to 30,000 more troops to help out saying: "We haven't seen the kinds of infrastructure improvements; we haven't seen the security improvements; we haven't seen the reduction in narco-trafficking; we haven't seen a reliance on rule of law in Afghanistan that would make people feel confident that the central government can, in fact, deliver on its promises. We've got to ramp up our development approach."

Issue #2

Spending What We can Afford

Issue #3

Social Insecurity

American's Soon to Know there fate from Haiti Judge

Background: I'm sure everyone in the world knows by now there has been a devastating earthquake in Haiti. Relief efforts have been working around the clock since its happened, and the American people have donated a record amount of money to help out. So many people have helped out and even gone down there to do what they can, well 10 Americans had the right intentions to help 33 Haitian children but they ended up getting in legal trouble for it. The 10 Americans tried to bring 33 children from Haiti into the Dominican Republic so they could transport the children back home to America where families were willing to take and adopt them. The got caught however and now they are all facing felony child trafficking charges. A Haiti judge will rule as early as today on the case, so the 10 American missionaries could get prison time for there actions.



Opinion: I think these people had the right intentions for these orphans, they just had the wrong way of going about it. They said in the article that they got permission from the kids parents to take them, but since they already had the permission, why not just go that extra step and ask the government to bring these orphans back to America where they would be accepted by families? Yes its considered child trafficking, but i think the Haitian government needs to look at the situation, some of these kids have no family left, and I'm sure most don't even have a home left, the government should just look at that and see that it is for the good of the kids. I can see where you should press charges if they took the kids against there will, but in this situation, just give the missionaries a fine. You don't need to put them in jail for trying to help out other peoples lives.

Toyota Recalls Spread

Background: An early November Toyota recalled some 4.2 million cars for gas pedal defects. The gas pedal on many of Toyota's newest models are getting stuck therefore causing a huge safety concern to the operators and pretty much everyone on the roads. They just announced this past Tuesday that they are adding another 1.1 million to the recall list. The vehicles originally included in this recall were the 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2007-2010 Lexus ES350, 2006-2010 and the 2006-2010 IS250 and IS350, and now they have added a new list including: 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Venza 2009-2010 Matrix, 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe. They say if you are experiencing gas pedal slowness or stickiness, you are suppose to stop driving the car immediately and call your local Toyota dealer.

Opinion: Toyota is known for its cars that have amazing gas mileage, and are known for taking over America's dealerships and sending them to the bottom of the sales list. For me its a no brainer, I have to buy American made cars because I know the parts are cheaper so if I need my car fixed I can get a fairly good deal for my parts. Plus I know I am supporting my country and the economy if I buy American made cars. So for all those people that thought about American made but passed it up for the Japanese made Toyota brand, I am feeling a bit sorry for you now because your car got recalled. I just don't trust the Japanese making my things, and now this proves my point. I'm glad I stuck with the American brand because hey maybe you like going fast, and so do I! But when I see the green light turn to red, who will be the one stopping?