Social Security Reform

Although the Social Security system is fine for the moment and is running surpluses in income over outgo, the board of trustees predicts that the funds will be depleted by 2041 and only 73% of incoming receipts will provide for the benefits offered by Social Security. On average over the next 75 years the system's cost will be 14% higher than the income. The main and primary reason for this problem is the past World War 2 baby boomers retiring less than a decade and according to statistics life expectancy for the elderly is on the rise. Compared to the current statistics on the elderly, by 2025 the number age 65 and older is predicted to grow over 74%. Unfortunately for us the increasing number of elderly isn't as great as we would like. If this truly does happen by 2025 the ratio of workers per seniors would down to the 2 to 1 range. President Bush tried to remedy this situation by trying to change the social security funds to not only take money from taxes but also to combine social security with people's private accounts. Of course many people opposed this because they didn't want extra money to be taken from their private accounts. Obama also opposed this and also the option to raise the retirement age. Unfortunately he doesn't oppose the increase in payroll taxes and by 2037 taxes might by up around 16 to 24% compared to the current 12.4%. The only solution to this problem seems to be to take extra money from other programs to fund social security while increasing payroll taxes. Seeing all of the debt that the US has dug itself into, we have to find a way to at least remedy this problem.

Congress and Domestic Violence

I guess Congress has MANY issues to deal with including the funds for Domestic Violence. We're kind of stretching the budget by trying to keep the funds going for Domestic Violence Centers. But, according to the article these centers are essential and they must be kept. The resources for teens and any person of any age must be kept open to offer its sources. Unfortunately there might be mid-year budget cuts toward programs directed to people that sustained abuse and many people are afraid of what the consequences could be if we go back to the days without these centers. Much to their dismay more and more people are being sent to centers due to the economic crisis and a lot of the centers are having a really hard time keeping up with the demand. Many ccenters have already put a limit and some have even closed down because of insufficient funds. The legislation of Schock and Moore would increase the authorization level for shelters and programs from 175 million to 250 million. The Doomestic Violence hotline would also become more efficient and offer more tools by allowing text messaging and instant messaging. Congress seems to have its hands full at the moment and hopefully we have enough money to help these centers out. Only they know how far we are into debt. If the funds are not granted then who knows what could happen to all of the resources the victims of abuse may have.

Goodnight.

Sears Tower!

"The leader of a group which plotted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago has been sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison."

Prosecutors finally sentenced the man who conspired to send material to Al-Qaeda and also bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago. Prosecutors fought for the maximum 70 year sentence but unfortunately only got the 13 and a half year sentence. He was caught on tape and video saying that he wanted to star a "full ground war" to "kill all of the devils". Even after saying that he still went on to say that he only said that to seize the 50,000$ that the undercover FBI agent offered him. He claimed that he normally wasn't a violent person and that he only wanted respect from his country. He also had the audacity to say that he had taken absolutely no steps to wage war. I don't even know how he would even think of saying that when the FBI and the court have video and audio of him saying that he wanted to kill all the devils. His lawyer also said that the authorities overreacted and that the men had no chance of completing their plan. The lawyer also said that there was no danger present in the United States and there was no intention for war. Sometimes i really wonder if lawyers have a soul. If there is a man who is caught with undeniable evidence, how can you even defend him? This case was a great step into stopping extremist activity and it was a great find and arrest.

Bill O'Reilly and Chris Matthews aren't they the same?

This is an interview which features Barrack Obama Bill O'Reilly. This interview concerned the war in Iraq and also questioning almost everything President Obama said. You can tell halfway into the interview his standpoint in politics. You can tell by the tone he uses, the way he addresses the issues, and the way he constantly interrupts President Obama in the middle of his responses. He acts in a way very childish because he doesn't let the person he is talking to finish his thoughts or his sentences. Conservatives definitely watch his show and his interviews because he IS a Conservative. Any person who lives in America and is a conservative would definitely love to see another person of the same party grill a Democrat, question after question after question and make them look like fools.





This is an interview of Chris Matthews' show segment called hardball. It showcases John Campbell a Republican Congressman and himself. The huge issue here was that most people in America were doubting that Barrack Obama is a legitimate Native born American. John Campbell had a proposal that he wanted to use to prove that Barrack Obama was a citizen. In the middle of the interview it begins to get really heated and i find myself very surprised at how the host of the show (Chris Matthews) reacts to the Congressman's answers. It just boggles my mind at how adults can act when they REALLY want to get their point across. So, Chris Matthews is a Liberal and you can tell by the way he cuts John Campbell off almost every single time he tries to talk, almost in the same manner as O'Reilly. Liberals definitely watch this show because he's a liberal as well. I also have a feeling that some conservatives might watch his shows but only for the purpose of useing his words against him later on, or to try to criticize him. Overall, i think that the only differences between Liberals and Conservatives is their issues and their labels. They both pretty act the same when they get very passionate about their topic. They cut eachother off and they try to get their point across by either being rude or being loud.
If you would watch the video you would probably understand what I mean.

Media Research Center VS. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting

I just got done going through both of those websites and I've got to say in a way they both act the same. The MRC is definitely Conservative and FAIR is definitely Democratic. Both of them act in the same way as to bash and criticize the other party through articles and videos. Although that may be the case, the MRC showcases other conservative members in the media and shows support in whatever they may do. On the FAIR website they showcase Democrats and heavily criticize other conservatives. There is definitely a huge amount of bias in both websites, because they both try to make the other party look like the enemy, but they make their own look perfect. For example, in the FAIR website in an attempt to criticize Conservatives, they presented Dick Morris. Dick Morris made an appearance in the O'Reilly Factor and proclaimed that McCain's decision to suspend his campaign was a brilliant move and that soon it would pay off. His polls of course kept on dropping and two weeks later Dick Morris said that the decision to suspend his campaign was a mistake on his part. FAIR was of course trying to make Dick Morris look bad by showing everyone that he contradicted himself. There was also a montage on the MRC website that showcased many democrat clips and soon after employees from MRC would comment on them and make sarcastic jokes to make then look "dumb". For example when Katie Couric introduces Al Gore to her show, she called him the "King of Consevation". Soon after the employees from MRC make sarcastic jokes and try to make him look bad. Both websites seem to be either very liberal of very conservative and they both criticize each other and only cover news that will make them look better to the world.

Political Cartoons

Al gore, the candidate that ran against bush is featured in this political cartoon. The media in this cartoon is twisting the actions of Al Gore. This man asks him about the growth of polar bears and Gore tells him to shut up. They end up calling the article "Another inconvenient truth." They pester him with a huge amount of questions and the people in the pool which are citizens are tired of it and say to "turn off his microphone." At the same time Gore runs away. The media controls what the public sees the person as by turning every action they make into anything they want it to be.

This political cartoon also features Al Gore. It shows him lounging next to pool with his drink while his butler brings him the latest from overseas. Gore responds by telling him to go recharge a solar cell. This cartoon is trying to explain that Gore is either a procrastinator or doesn't care. The important issues he has to deal with are being ignored and he is taking his sweet time to deal with the problem.






President Obama wants to send every senior citizen a check for 250$ hooray! The mailman brings the check to the old lady and the little boy wonders where all the money is coming from. The mailman brings in another letter but its a bill for the little boy. The grandma is happy while the child isn't. The seniors of America are getting money and they're really happy because they get free money. Unfortunately the youth are being charged with paying the money that the senior citizens are receiving. Also there might be a message of the child being so young that little kids might have bills built up by the time they reach their adult age.


Around September there were talks about getting N. Korea to talk to the 5 countries which are S. Korea, Russia, US, Japan, and China to stop their nuclear testing of bombs overseas. This shows the leader of N. Korea (Kim Jong) talking over the phone agreeing to begin talking again. In the middle of the conversation he screams fire and goes back to agreeing with the person over the phone. That author is trying to explain that he will pretend to stop nuclear testing but he is not a good person to confide in because he is very unpredictable. He puts on an act of being peaceful but he still continues to test out his weapons behind their back.

"Iran police clash with protesters"

"Security forces have used batons and tear gas to disperse opposition supporters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, witnesses and state media say."

Some unconfirmed reports also state that the police opened fire. The riot consisted of groups of people who opposed the regime and thought that the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged. Riot police and Pro Militiamen packed the in the streets centre of the capital on Wednesday. They were there on the account of reformist leaders urging their supporters to attend peaceful rallies at the the former US embassy. Their arguement is that that they went with their usual peaceful slogans of supporting peace and asking for freedom. A lot of witnesses claim that they saw no agitation or any aggression in the group but they were still attacked violently. Tear gas was used to disperse the protesters quickly. Some arrests were made and at least 30 or more protesters have died since the election in June. It's pretty hard to take sides in this kind of situation because huge groups of people coordinated into one area and the tension between the police and the group can easily cause a spark of violence. It makes sense that the police would try to disperse the group with tear gas or other manners quickly but beating them with batons and allegedly firing at them is different. If this continues to happen then the eople arrested and death toll is definitely going to rise. Although the people from iran are fighting for a good cause, creating such a huge group in one area creates a lot of suspicion for the police which can result in these kind of actions.