Tag Archives: government

Could This Be the End?

 

A close call last month proved showed that one of the most dangerous asteroids flew close to the surface of the earth. All this was discovered during the government shutdown, even though NASA was shut down. Luckily, we weren’t hit, but recent studies say that this asteroid will fly in again in 19 years and possibly hit us. If the asteroid is big enough and with just the right impact, it could do some massive damage or even knock the earth off it’s orbit. Although the odds are slim to none, the scientists are still finding out more about this object. The space agency isn’t too worried, assuring us that they are 99% sure that it will simply fly past again in 2032. But should we be worried anyway?

In my opinion, I don’t think we should have too much to worry about. By 2032 we could have new and more sophisticated technology that could track the movements of the asteroid and possibly even redirect it. But, even with this information, I am still wondering, before 2032 will this asteroid just break into pieces and not even come close to earth? Or, will it hit another planet and still not touch earth? Of course, everyone is strongly hoping that the asteroid out there will not bother us, but I have a very strong opinion that maybe we are overreacting and that the asteroid will, in fact, not hit us.

~Emily

Government Shutdown Couldn’t Shut Down the President’s Cup

Just this past weekend, with the PGA Tour golf season soon coming to a close, the President’s Cup golf tournament took place at the Muirfield Village Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio. The President’s Cup is a golf tournament that is played every two years, showcasing a four day battle between the U.S. team and the International team. Naturally, the U.S team includes only players from America, while the International team has players from every other part of the world. Both teams have selected captains, who choose certain players to be on the team, while other players earn their spot on by achieving a certain goal. For the four day event, players play matches against the other team 2 on 2 or head to head. If one team gets a better score on a hole than the other, they win the hole, and go 1 up in the match. However, if the other team gets a point on another hole, the match goes back to all square. If both teams get the same score for the hole, neither team gets points. At the end of the 18 hole match, whichever team is up, whether they’re 1 up or 5 up, wins the match, and if a match is all square at the end, both teams receive .5 points. At the end of the four days, the team with the most total points from winning or tying matches wins the tournament. This year, as the rain came pouring down and delayed play many times, the U.S. prevailed, beating the International team 18.5 to 15.5. Tiger Woods sealed the deal for the U.S., securing his match down the stretch and earning the U.S. a very valuable last point.

Personally, I am a big golf fan and player, and I believe tournaments like this, and just the game of golf overall, are looked at by most as kind of a sissy and lame sport. But I don’t feel this way at all. Golf is a game against your mind: if you are completely calm, and focused on every shot, but not overly stressed, you can play great most times. But if you are doubting yourself, your swing, or you just have one bad thought as you’re playing, there is a very good chance you won’t play well. Plus, when you are playing well, it feels really good and can be very rewarding. However you are playing, though, it doesn’t matter: it is still a fun game. Also, as I have been to a PGA Tour golf tournament myself, I can freely say that it can be suspenseful and exciting to watch one live or on TV. Sitting by the 18th green with the best seat in the house, I’ve witnessed two tournaments that have been decided in the last few holes. I’ve witnessed Bubba Watson, now a star on the Tour, hit a miraculous shot to clinch to his 1st Tour victory, and be reduced to tears after the emotional win. Events like the President’s Cup and the Ryder Cup (a very similar tournament to the PC besides the fact that it is played every four years and instead of an International team, there is just a European team) are even more special, because it’s when most of the best players in the world come together and play against each other. Also, fans from all over the world attend, as ones from all countries and cultures come to cheer on the International squads. Lastly, the PGA Tour does one thing none of the other sports/leagues in our country do: raise the largest sums of money for charities around the world. And as we are in October, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we can appreciate of all the great work the PGA of America does for our country.

~Mark

Crisis in Syria

The violence in Syria first began in March 2011.  What started as a peaceful protest, after 15 children from school were arrested, and reportedly tortured for writing anti government graffiti on a wall.  The people were calling for the release of the children,  but the government responded very violently. On March 14, the government opened fire on the protesters, killing 4 innocent people.  The next day, they killed another innocent civilian after opening fire at the mourners attending the victims funerals.  Now, enraged by the governments actions, the protestors demanded that President Assad to step down, but he refused.  In August, things went too far, when the government used chemical weapons against their own people, killing hundreds including many children.  This attack caused international outrage, mainly because chemical warfare is a weapon of mass destruction, and has been banned.  Now, there is a big debate on if the US should take military action on Syria.

Personally, I think the US government should take military action in Syria. I think this because if no one responds to how they used chemical weapons, they will set a precedent for other countries to use them, because they will think that no one is going to stop them if they do. Also, as a result of President Assad leadership, hundreds of innocent lives are being lost because of a corrupt government killing their own people.

~Maryam

Quick, Turn It Back On!

On October 1, 2013 the United States Federal Government was shut down, causing chaos, uncertainty, and financial turmoil.  Because the Democrats and Republicans could not agree on a budget in time for the next fiscal year, the government had to “shut down”.  People have lost wages because many government sponsored jobs are “on hold”, and there is a feeling of fear and doom across the country.   The media has played upon the huge philosophical and fiscal differences between the two parties, and the feud between the two is now an international event.  This shutdown makes the United States appear weak, irresponsible, and distracted on the international stage.  Other countries may view this internal crisis as a weakness.  The world sees this shutdown as extremely negative. This historical crisis is still occurring now, and will not stop until the two political parties show maturity and responsibility to agree with each other to create a workable budget.

I believe that the members of  the United States congress are  acting foolishly and that their disagreements are pathetic.  The members of Congress are egomaniacs who  think that their ideas are better than the ideas of the other party.  In my opinion, I think that the members of both parties are idiots and are losing sight of  what is really important, keeping  the Unites States as the greatest, most powerful country in the world! However, we can’t maintain such a high level of power when the people who run this country aren’t running it for the nation, they are running it into the ground because their own special interests are first.  I mean, you would think that maybe one person would rise above all and knock some sense into everybody’s heads, but apparently it hasn’t happened because this crisis has been going on for seven days now, and there is no end in sight.  I wonder how President Obama feels about the situation right now and what he could do to convince Congress to move  in the right direction? I also wonder how he feels, knowing that arrogant fools are guiding this nation into the wrong direction!? Well then, I’m just about ready to go to bed,  so the mind boggling thought of selfish fools managing this nation will soon flee my mind!-Thank God!

~Eric

Syrian Civil War

The issue that started the war between the rebels and the government of Syria is the fact that President, al-Assad and his entire family has held presidency since 1971.  In April of 2011 the government deployed their army to stop the demonstrations across the country. By 2013 the death total had reached the 100,000 mark and by September the toll reached 120,000 deaths. Also ten’s of thousands of protesters were imprisoned and tortured. One of the most mind blowing things is that the government is using chemical weapons on their own people.  President al Assad denies using chemical weapons.


Something should be done! The government doesn’t seem stable and because the rebels are fighting back with force the president was pressured and made a poor decision in using chemical weapons. President al Assad said that the rebels cannot be negotiated with.  This sounds like a lousy excuse for taking innocent peoples’ lives.  There is no excuse!   However, President al Assad did admit that both sides were at fault for  starting the war.   No explanation seems like a good one.

~Joey

Government Shutdown

 

Today, October 1st, the U.S. government is shut down because it was not carrying out the functions of a proper government. The reason for the shutdown is because the government was not passing spending bills that fund the government. The House of Republicans suggested that Obamacare should have a reduced fund from the government but the Democrats want the exact opposite. Also, the democrats say that “the law will expand access to health care and help rein in the rising costs of coverage. Obamacare prevents those with pre-existing medical conditions from being denied health insurance.”

This made me think that the Democrats have better thoughts about this shutdown. Also, I don’t really understand why the government is shut down because if it wasn’t functioning why it’s supposed to then they should have fixed the issues earlier. Additionally, I think this shutdown is a problem because people have lost their jobs and some aren’t getting paid. However, Obamacare is well needed to help people that are in need of  health insurance.

~Giuliana

Government Shutdown Killing People?

The government shutdown might have seemed like a silly fight between the Republican and Democratic parties, but could possibly be something deadly. Other than parks and many other national parks being shut down, clinical trials are also being put on hold, which is very bad news for the thousands of sick patients holding on to their last strand of hope. Many cancer patients and other sick patients with various diseases hope to find refuge in new and hopefully successful drugs that have been tested and found to work towards their own type of health problem. These drugs are still in phases where they are being tested but have been found successful, and to these people who mostly have little to no treatment options, they can only pray that this will be the cure, and it quite possibly could. Weekly, hundreds of patients are admitted into these facilities run by the National Institute of Health. According to NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, over one-third of the patients accepted in their clinic are cancer patients, and about 15% being children. About 15,000 employees of the NIH(National Institute of Health) are on a temporary leave as well. Numerous studies would have began this week, but due to this ridiculous shutdown, people must wait before once again receiving government funding to run these life-saving programs.

I believe that this is certainly absurd, and can not imagine how the families of these people are feeling. The government should stop this nonsense and agree with the other party about these things before things get worse, because ignorance should not have to be payed with these innocent lives. Furious cannot even begin to describe how much hate must go towards the government at this crucial time. Would you like to know that what you are doing could be taking lives away? Especially as one of the main concerns being talked about during the shutdown is funding for Obamacare, which is directed towards giving everyone the benefits of healthcare. Although some of these treatments could possibly be a failure, most of the people willing to apply for these clinical trials don’t have much of a choice in front of them. Most have already gone through countless doses of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and much more pain. It would be very possible that they realistically had months, even days to live. Now with the government shutting down, they are being denied treatments when they most need it, for people that are battling cancer that have no time to spare and early treatment can save millions of lives. These days with the government shutdown, people in need of miracle may just not be able to get one, and who is to blame?

~Annie

Government Shutdown

On October 1st,  the government officially went into shutdown.  How did this happen, you might be asking. Well, one of Congresses key duties is to help fund the government by passing spending bills.  If the bill doesn’t pass, most services of the government can’t run, such as funding agencies and processing passport requests.  The reason that this bill didn’t pass, causing the government to go into shutdown, was because the Republicans in the house are determined stop funding Obamacare, a law that requires all Americans to have health insurance.  In contrast, the Democrats are just as stubborn to keep the program running.  Some of the arguments the Republicans are giving, are that this will hurt employers.  Some also argue that the medical device tax that is included in the law for Obamacare, “basically sending jobs overseas.”  Some counterattacks that the Democrats are giving are that since Obamacare prevents people who have pre existing health issues from being denied health care, those who do have health care won’t have to indirectly pay for those who are uninsured.

Personally, I don’t really have an opinion on the matter of Obamacare, mostly because I don’t buy insurance or pay taxes.  I do know, however, that this decision will impact many others. Such as people who don’t want to pay extra taxes, and people who can’t afford health insurance.  I think that it was slightly unnecessary for the government to go into shutdown over this matter, instead of them coming to a consensus.  Soon, hopefully, The House will come to an agreement and the government will be restored.

~ Maryam

The Fiscal Cliff

The Fiscal Cliff is the name used to describe the problem the U.S. government will be facing at the end of 2012. The country will be facing these problems because of the Budget Control Act of 2011, that will be going into effect December 31, 2012. Some of the laws set to change on December 31, 2012 are the end of payroll tax cuts, the end of tax breaks for certain business, and the beginning of taxes for Obama’s healthcare law. Not only that but large spending cuts for over 1,000 government programs will go into effect. That is what the Fiscal Cliff is, but how will lawmakers deal with it is the question. The lawmakers have three options and none of them look great. The first option is that they could have more tax increases and spending cuts, which could cut the deficit in half, but it could also send the country into a recession. The second option is that they could do nothing and just let the debt grow, but that could give us more economic problems. The third option is that they could take a middle route and increase the taxes and spending cuts, but not increase them too much.

I think that they should go down the middle route. That way they can still increase taxes and have spending cuts, but they won’t send the country into a recession. It would help out with the deficit, even though it will have a smaller effect than the first option. It is a much better option than the second option because it won’t let the debt just accumulate even more, it will do something to try and stop it.

~Dennis Yatsula

The New Egyptian Government-or is it?

On January 25th, 2011, a wave of revolts started in major Egyptian cities against president and self assigned Prime Minister, Hosni Mubarak. After 6 days of demonstrations, on February 1st, 2012, Mubarak announced that he would not be running for another term in September, 2011, and promised constitutional reform. However, protestors were not satisfied with this and began violent demonstrations, which caused some protesters’ deaths. On February 11th, 2011, Mubarak resigned. Mubarak, his sons, and a family friend currently in the run were acquitted of corruption, and all except Mubarak, including 6 high up police officers, were acquitted of charges of killing peaceful protestors. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison.

Through all this, what does the government actually look like now? El-Adly, the head of the security forces who imposed Mubarak’s will was sentenced to 12 years of prison so far, with up to a death sentence coming, but the rest of the security forces remained untouched, and the government who served Mubarak still remains the same, and leaving this government to the military who may have been, and still may be more loyal to Mubarak than to the Egyptian people. So what’s in the future of Egypt? A democratic government with power to the people? I doubt it highly. More likely, the revolt will be in vain, and a high ranking military officer will take over the government and run something very similar to the Mubarak Era, maybe treating the people either better or worse to keep them in line and not follow in the footsteps of Mubarak. And the people will be powerless to take the power back again. Therefore, either the current justice system begin to purge the system while they still can, or there will be a really bad ending…for both Egypt and the world.

~Shangda Xu