Pro-Obama groups plan health care ad blitz

Democratic legislators will soon see TV ads thanking them for their support of the health care reform bill, which was signed into law on Tuesday. This ad campaign will be $5 million and is being paid for by pro-Obama group. It will target mainly Democrats. These ads are part of an effort to provide political cover for Obama. The bill passed with a 219-210 vote. The Democratic National Commitee and labor unions are key sponsors of these ads. Catholics United is also involved in the effort. These ads are only the first phase of a campaign to support those who supported Obama's most important bill.

I am not sure what to think of this new health care bill yet. I have heard so many different sides and points of view that I'm not sure what to believe or think. But this string of TV ads thanking those who supported Obama's bill seems a little bit suspicious- like Obama is paying them off somehow, to make sure they continue to support him. Many people are extremely against his new bill that he just passed, so he needs people behind him supporting him and ensuring the rest of his bills get passed. These ads seem too much like paying off people to me than really thanking them for their help. I don't think it's necessary to pay $5 million to thank someone when you can do it for free. Obama, in my opinion, just wants to make it public that people support him, and making sure that they continue to do so.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/24/health.care.ads/index.html

List ranks best, deadliest U.S. roads

A recent list published in Reader's Digest tells which state's roads are the best, and which are the worst. Kansas, Wisconsin, and Montana have the country's best roads, according to the list. The magazine used data from the Federal Highway Administration while compiling their list. But Montana, making the list because of its good infrastructure, also makes the list of the worst roads in the country. Part of the reason Montana roads are so deadly is because when drivers are under the influence of alcohol, they drive recklessly on the Montana roads and often don't wear seat belts. Alabama was ranked as the deadliest state for speeding.
While I wasn't surprised that Montana has some of the country's best roads, I was surprised that it has also been said to have some of the worst, and most deadly, roads. I think that it more depends upon the person driving rather than what kind of roads they are driving on. While I know that some parts of Minnesota have bad roads, I don't think our state would do too bad on that list. Minnesota isn't one of the more populated states, and many roads have been redone. I think that Minnesota is, in general, a safe place to drive, and live.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/03/16/best.deadliest.roads/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)

Officials: Bacterial meningitis kills two Oklahoma students

In the Oologah-Talala public school district in Oklahoma, there were six possible cases of bacterial meningitis, including two deaths. One of the students was only 8 years old. The superintendent of the school district said that the schools were closed on Friday because of this. He feels that they should remain calm but he closed the schools "just to stay on the safe side." The state health board will provide antibiotics against the illness, which is caused by an inflammation of the meninges. All faculty of the school was screened, and it was reported that they have enough antibiotics to treat 1,000 people. Last year in Oklahoma, there were 16 reported cases of bacterial meningitis but only one death. If you have any symptoms of this illness, you should seek medical attention immediately.

I always just assumed that people don't/can't die from seemingly small illnesses like this anymore. I assumed that we were vaccinated against it already and we didn't have to worry about this sort of thing. I guess I was wrong. I think that this particular school district should be even more careful than they are being right now to stop the spread of the disease; if it is serious enough to kill two people in the school district, they should be taking drastic safety measures. Everyone should be vaccinated. I know that if bacterial meningitis was in our state,I would be very worried for our schools' health. This kind of thing shouldn't be able to be killing people nowadays, in my opinion. Schools are very susceptible to diseases like this.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/11/oklahoma.meningitis.death/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)

Investigators on way after waves kill cruise passengers

A Louis Cruise Lines ship traveling off the coast of Spain was hit by three waves, each one about 26 feet (8 meters) high. It happened 24 miles off Cabo de San Sebastian. These "abnormal" waves killed two cruise passengers. Maltese government officials were sent to investigate the deaths. The two people killed, both male, one Italian and one German, were on deck five when the waves hit. They smashed five windows on the bow of the 14-deck ship. Vito Sgobba, the cruise ship's hotel manager, rushed to the scene immediately after the waves hit. The two deceased died instantly; they were brought to the ship's hospital but they didn't make it there alive. The victims were a German man, 69, from North Rhine Westphalia, and an Italian man, 52, who was traveling with his family. Fourteen other passengers were treated for light injuries. The next cruise has been canceled, and the ship is currently in Barcelona for repairs.

This article shocked me when I read it. I went on a cruise myself about 5 years ago, and I never imagined that something like this could happen. I assumed that many precautions were taken to avoid this sort of thing, but I guess you can't be guaranteed safety on a cruise ship. I'm wondering, though, if the families of the two deceased men could file a lawsuit against the cruise ship company. Is the company liable for this freak accident that caused the death of two passengers? I think that, while no one was at fault for this accident, the families of the two men should be compensated in some way or another. The men were on their cruise ship at the time of the accident, so the company should be held responsible for any deaths that occurred there. People are dying in so many ways that I never even thought about lately; it's kind of upsetting to me how some of these deaths happen. Just when people think their safety is assured, something goes wrong, just like on this cruise ship. I'm sure it will make some people think twice about going on a cruise after this accident.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/04/spain.cruise.ship.wave/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)

L.A. middle school, students struggle under budget cuts

In a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood school, budget cuts are becoming very evident. At Markham Middle School, a student talks about how her history class has had 10 different teachers (substitutes) during only one semester. This is because, district-wide, 2,000 teachers were let go as state budget deficits. All these cutbacks to the California school system are hurting the students' learning experience, and it's affecting how much they learn. But it doesn't stop there; the principal believes that there will be more teacher layoffs coming this summer. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit saying that these layoffs take away from the rights of the inner city students to an education. They believe that the children who need more help, such as the children in the poverty-stricken neighborhood of Watts, should have the resources to succeed in their education even more than others. If the ACLU lawsuit is passed, there will be layoffs, but not at Markham Middle School.

I think that it would affect a student's education hugely if they don't have a proper teacher. Sharail Reed, the student who has had 10 different teachers in her history class, talked about how it made it more difficult to learn from these new teachers who don't even know her name. The changing up of these teachers halts the learning process and is not desirable at all for a student's education. I don't think that, just because of the budget, they should be cutting back on the teachers. The students in Watts need an education just as much as everyone else. As for the ACLU lawsuit, however, I am not sure if I agree that these students need teachers and an education more than everyone else. Each and every student deserves the right to a good education. We shouldn't transfer the teacher layoffs/budget cuts to another school. We should be looking for a way to provide the students with a good education without depriving someone of this right. If cuts are necessary somewhere, why should it have to be in our schools?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/04/layoffs.education/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)

Toyota hit with grand jury subpoena

On Monday the Toyota company received a subpoena related to the problems with the brakes and unintended acceleration of its newest model, the Toyota Prius. They also received one from the Los Angeles office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Toyota's Prius has had many problems with acceleration and braking since it came out in the beginning of 2010. More than 8 million vehicles were recalled for safety reasons. Toyota knows that they made a mistake and they plan to cooperate with the investigations. The Toyota president will testify in Washington on Wednesday about the subpoenas and the vehicle's problems. They will discuss federal auto safety regulators and how the company had let these problems slide.

I don't know how the Toyota company could have let these problems slide, or not notice this major problem. They should be devoting time to each and every vehicle to make sure it is safe and secure enough to be ready to be sold to the public. They seem to be getting careless with their products. They need to retain the image that people have of their company by making sure every vehicle that they make is top-quality. Wouldn't it have been easier to just make sure every car that went out their doors was in proper working condition than to recall all of them because of this problem? People could have gotten seriously hurt. Toyota is one of the biggest names in cars, and this could tarnish their reputation. I am not sure if they deserved a subpoena for it, but they definitely need to tell their story and come to their senses. They need to ensure that their customer's safety will never be in jeopardy from purchasing one of their products.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/22/autos/toyota_subpoena/index.htm?hpt=T2

Issue #1: War Dollars

Summary: The Constitution states that the president of the United States is the commander in chief of the armed forces, so he or she is able to choose what we spend our money on- whether to fight or not. But congress has the "power of the purse", which is a power that gives Congress the authority to approve the federal spending needed for the war. Congress has denied president's requests for funding fighting before, such as Reagan's request to fund the fighting in Nicaragua. There is a debate as to whether Congress should be able to use this power or not. People who are not happy with the war in Iraq want Congress to be able to use this power to stop the funding of the war. It has cost billions of dollars to taxpayers and some believe that Congress is going about it the right way by using their "power of the purse". Some are opposed to Congress's interference, however. They elected this president and they want him or her to decide what to do with the war situation. According to them, the president is better equipped than Congress to decide what will be best for the war effort, and best for a victory.

Opinion: I believe that Congress should be able to "interfere", as some call it, in the president's decisions and powers for funding the war. We need a second body to go over the decisions made by the president. His or her decisions about war may cost millions of dollars, and Congress should be there to look over it and decide what is really necessary. They should be able to "override" the president if his plan will do more harm than good to the people of America and the war effort. If Congress uses their "power of the purse", then we can ensure that we are not funding useless war efforts that will get us nowhere. I think that, while the president should have some power to choose what to do in a war situation, they should not be given complete power over these decisions. We need to decide what is best for the people, not just what one person thinks is better. Many Republicans believe that the war needs to be ended and that the President should not have all the power, according to this article: http://moodle.alexandria.k12.mn.us/file.php/3/Dem_v_Rep_Addendum.htm

Issue #2: http://alyciass2.blogspot.com/2010/02/federal-budget-blog-entry-issue-2.html

Issue #3: http://kariscurrenteventsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/social-insecurity.html