State of the Union :Fair.

I was tired that day, but somehow I magically woke up at exactly 9 pm to watch the State of the Union. Guess it was my body telling me to wake up because this involved my country and my generation (oh yeah my my AP Gov.  grade). 

In class, we watched a video stating that a huge topic for tonight would be the word "fair"..And boy were they right. Obama started his "fair" speech in the statement : "We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules." I loved this quote because it showed the ideals that our country should be based on FAIR OPPORTUNITY . Of course we've heard countless leaders say this, that they want to make the country fair.. and it still isn't. Makes you wonder if fair opportunity is only in an utopia. In his speech, Obama actually went into depth on his plan to make the playing ground level including "The Buffet Rule" and limiting the amount of deductions that households whose salaries are 1,000,000 +.  He also speaks about keeping jobs here. H said "If you're an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you're a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making products here." . While this is a great idea, many critics believe that tax cuts to specific industries is totally ineffective.. We'll just have to sit back and watch what happens. I also found Obama's take on college education pretty interesting. Considering, I'll be entering college in August...I understand 1000% the stresses on American Teens (and Teens everywhere). College is expensive and Obama believes that every child should have the opportunity to go to college. He also mentioned the students who are here on visas, and how they should be allowed to stay in this country to boost our economy instead of being sent back to their native lands and boosting their economy..

   All and All. I enjoyed the speech. These are just a few of my favorite parts...but his take on clean energy was pretty great as well...This presidential race shall be interesting....

Candidates on SOPA.

SOPA is a huge topic right now in the internet world. If you're anything like me, you spend time frequenting wikipedia when looking up interesting things, or Tumblr when blogging and reblogging... On wednesday, they were blocked.. Tumblr willingly if you decided.

I found it pretty interesting to hear what the candidates had to say about it. Most of the top GOP candidates are actually against it , as it increases federal and other governmental control over the cyber world and it restricts internet freedom. During a presidential debate in South Carolina, Romney stated “The truth of the matter is that the law as written is far too intrusive, far too expansive, far too threatening to freedom of speech and movement of information across the Internet, ........“It would have a potentially depressing impact on one of the fastest-growing industries in America, which is the internet and all those industries connected to it,” .  Even Gingrich had commentary on it saying “I favour freedom. And I think that if we have a Patent Office, we have copyright law. If a company finds that it has genuinely been infringed upon, it has the right to sue for, but the idea that we’re going to preemptively have the government start censoring the internet on behalf of giant corporations’ economic interests strikes me as exactly the wrong thing to do,” .... The least shocking of them all was Paul as everyone who has been watching the debates know that he has very strong libertarian views and believes that the government should stay out of most matters. He was one of the first republicans to sign up with opposition to the Bill. Anyways, its good to see that the candidates support internet freedom...or at least are against the government having too much control over it.....

http://online.wsj.com/video/candidates-react-to-anti-piracy-legislation/B4A27831-831B-4117-BA8E-4314D2FE98E4.html

Super PACS= Too Much Power.

...After the 2010 Supreme Court Decision,PACs are allowed to raise an abundance of money for the candidates that they support. this includes super PACs, millionaires and corporations can give as much of their money to an independent group or lobbyist organization. As long as the money is not given directly to a candidate or his campaign, it is considered legal. According to the supreme court, this is not "corrupted" since it is independent of the candidate. 

This is not exactly true. Wealthy corps can now use their power and wealth to influence a candidate's campaign. Are there heavy regulations on these super PACs to ensure that they are not engaging in corrupt actions. These PACs are not always independent of the candidate's affairs, as sometimes those candidates show up at fundraising events for these PACs. There are always loopholes within every rule, so I'd love to see where this goes. 

Not Liberal, Not Conservative. He's LIBERTARIAN!.

...The Republican Party now has to figure out how to handle a candidate like Paul. Ron Paul to be exact. They have to make sure that he does not run as a third party candidate, and with that take their votes. This would only lead to a loss for the Republican Party without enough desired support.

Ron Paul proves to be a very heavy contender as he racked in about 25% of the votes in the New Hampshire primary and 21% in Iowa. He may not have the same luck in South Carolina as he did previously, simply for the fact that his views aren't as popular there. However, it is very important that other candidates do not attack Paul too much as he may not win the primaries and nomination for the GOP, but he can definitely endorse them. With his endorsement comes his supporters endorsements.

This election is like walking on thin ice. Convincing others that you're the good guy, and your opponents are the not-as-good guys....and then once there's no competition that you guys are best friends....Interesting.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/13/us-usa-campaign-paul-idUSTRE80B25J20120113

Gingrich and his Infidelity

...America , a country based on morals. Slavery, Trail of Tears, Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Japanese Internment camps are all apart of this right?...Anyways, Gingrich is currently being judged on his actions within his marriage such as infidelity. Although we should be focusing on what he can truly do for this country, or what he cant do; The Media continues to focus on his marriage and how it was broken.

Thursday, CNN news report John King came straight out with the Open Marriage question on their first exchange. Gingrich of course deflected the question and seemed ultimately offended. He responded by stating "I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that."   Obviously, Gingrich did not like this question as his response continues beyond that. Well, as president , Gingrich may have to get used to questions like this prying into his social life. Unless, he wants another Lewinsky Trial. 
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/gop-debate-gingrich-kills-infidelity-question-and-thats-just-the-start/251686/

Rick Perry Drops out of the Race!

It was in North Charleston, SC that Perry announced his decision to drop out of the race for the 2012 presidential election. His reason for dropping out is that there is no longer a "viable path" for him and that he knows when to strategically quit the race. He speaks on America and his views for presidency in his statement "What's broken in America is not our people. It's our politics. And what we need in Washington is a government that's humbler." . In addition to his retreating, he also decided to come out and state that he supports and endorses former competitor Newt Gingrich. Speaking on Gingrich, Perry says "I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country" and added, "Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?". When Mitt Romney found out about Perry dropping out of the race, he stated Mitt Romney stated  "He's a great man. He made a real contribution. He already has to his state and to our country." I find it quite interesting that the candidates support each other when they're not chewing each others heads off. In all reality, Perry has said he is retreating from this race, but it looks like he may attempt to run again in 2016.... I'll continue to watch Perry and see what's his next move. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/rick-perry-drops-out-2012-_n_1214032.html

We had an actor as our president, why not a Comedian?

Our 40th president, Ronald Reagan was a radio and tv actor, so it is no surprise that Comedian Stephen Colbert desires to run for US Presidency, in the South Carolina primaries. Although the filing deadline has past, he may be able to participate as a write in candidate. Colbert even has someone to lead his SuperPAC , "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" ; Fellow comedian Jon Stewart. He gave it over to Stewart so he wouldn't be violating the law stating that candidates cannot lead super PACs. Colbert's PAC was formed last year to mock how many contradictions there are in laws that allow corporations to give unlimited amounts of money. Colbert states "This is a difficult decision. I've talked it over with my money. I've talked it over with my spiritual adviser". The full title that Colbert is running for is "President of the United States of South Carolina. " Interesting right?. Does Colbert have a fighting chance and is he even really serious? Guess we'll have to find out. Hey at least in the Polls he's ahead of Huntsman. 

http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/2012/01/13/stephen-colbert-exploring-run-for-president-of-usa-of-south-carolina/