Miracle Girl

A 10-year-old girl who lives in Forest Hills was sucked into an 18-inch drain pipe last weekend. The pipe traveled underground for 36 feet with water and survived. There was heavy rain, and her family walked outside to see the flooding. She got too close to the ditch and fell in. Then she was sucked into the drain pipe that ran under two drive-ways. They found her face down on the other side, and suddenly started breathing again when her dad ran to her.

this is truly a miracle. wow God had to be watching over this little girl. to survive after going through a drain pipe and being able to live that is incredible. these parents had the worse experience i think that they have ever had in one life. they must have been relieved that they found her on the other side and she started to breath again.

Venus Stewart

As the investigation into the disappearance of Venus Stewart continues, some handwritten notes have surfaced alleging her estranged husband was involved in inappropriate touching with the couple's children. Her dad found the papers by accident in a dresser drawer. Allegedly, Douglas had one of his daughters touch him inappropriately. A younger sibling was home at the time of the alleged incident, but in a different room. No charges were filed against Douglas because there was insufficient evidence.

This is sick. no child should have to be scare of their father, but yet these kids have a father that makes them go and touch him inappropriately. they shouldn't give up looking for evidence, they should make sure that, if this father did do this that he goes to jail, and stays there.

Deputy shooting

A Volusia County sheriff's deputy late Sunday night shot and injured a shotgun-wielding man accused of dousing his wife with gasoline, according to authorities. He shot Joshua Gerard, 30, in the stomach and elbow following a domestic dispute. According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Gerard's wife returned home with their two children about 9:35 p.m. and found Gerard in an agitated state. Deputies said he had trashed the house and began dousing his wife with gasoline. She took the children and ran to a neighbor's house, deputies said.When Mejias arrived at the home, Gerard was in the driveway with a shotgun, according to the Sheriff's Office. "He did tell him to drop the gun at which time the individual pointed the gun at our sergeant, and he shot him," Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said.

I don't understand people, if your are having a fight can't people just get over the problem and move on. people shouldn't be be dousing their wives in gasoline over some problem. then for this guy to go and point a shotgun at a sheriff deputy is just a little to much. I would have just killed the guy and solved the problem for him.

Issue #3

Putting welfare to work.

there are more single mothers working, and child support collections have increased. the highest percentages of people in deep poverty since the government began tracking in 1975. in 1996 about 2.5 million people left the welfare program. by having a Market-Based Economy, when people would buy goods such as food the price of that food would go up, so with families in poverty they could only buy the foods that wasn't in high demand. along with this there are more and more poverty families that are being able to find work, most of it full-time jobs. by adding the Aid to Families with Dependent Children families were able to get money for there children when the families have little or no income. it has become easier for low skilled people to find jobs and along with this there need to be childhood programs for the kids will less advantages that are tied to money.

i feel that the government need to do something about the poverty. we cannot have America stay a superpower if we have less and less people to fill the shoes of the people leaving. every child should be able to have the same opportunity as the person that so much money they don't even know what to do with it. i feel that just because you don't have as much money as the person next to you, you should have every chance to pick the job you want.

http://moodle.alexandria.k12.mn.us/file.php/3/Dem_v_Rep_Addendum.htm

Issue 1

Issue 2

Teacher layoff

The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District has voted to send notices of possible layoffs to up to 5,200 teachers and other workers because of a huge budget gap.

The Board of Education was unanimous Tuesday in deciding to take the action as the nation's second-largest school district deals with a $640 million shortfall.

At the same time, the board has urged union leaders to enter negotiations that could make some layoffs unnecessary.

The vote does not constitute a decision to actually begin layoffs. The district sometimes rescinds such notices if more money becomes available.

i think that the teachers shouldn't be cut if they are doing good job and have kids that are being successful in there class. if the teachers are not doing a good job and kids are having trouble being successful in his class because he doesn't teach the class then they should fire the teacher and find one that can do his job better and correctly.

Sex law

The health care reform legislation that President Obama signed recently isn't only about insurance coverage -- there's also a renewal of $50 million per year for five years for abstinence-focused education.

Programs that receive this funding must "teach that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems," according to the Department of Health and Human Services. To qualify, they must also teach that sex before marriage is "likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects." These are part of the "A-H definition," requirements for programs to receive abstinence funding under Title V of the Social Security Act.

this is dumb. if teens want to have sex they are going to have sex. a law won't change that. it is no different as that law passed about texting and drive. people do that all the time. that law hasn't done anything for the people because they just won't follow the law. i have text while driving and even with the law i still text and drive.

Flooding

he rain-soaked Northeast, particularly Rhode Island, endured more misery Wednesday as it battled flooded roads and basements while waiting for water levels to drop.

"Looking for some positives here, the water has begun to recede," Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

Carcieri said his state has had some "bad accidents" but no fatalities. It's "really very positive and encouraging given the amount of water and the circumstances that so many of our citizens have faced," he said.

it seems that floods happens all over the U.S. now. i have always been one to help out when they need volunteers. there isn't much you can do in order to stop the floods. so if we can get the sand bags packed high and long in order to save as many houses as possible. i always go help up by the red river area to save what we can and it is a challenge but worth the time and effort.

Oil in the ocean

President Obama unveiled plans Wednesday to open large swaths of U.S. coastal waters in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling -- a move likely to please the energy industry but upset the administration's environmentalist supporters. The administration plan would include lifting a 20-year ban on drilling off the Virginia coastline, while putting the clamps on sites such as southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay. Parts of the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's North Slope, however

i say drill. i am sick of paying 2.50-3.25 dollars for a gallon of gas. if drill will help to lower the cost of gas i would drill in the ocean. the ocean is huge if people are afraid that their fishies might die, there is plenty of water for the fish to swim around in. we are only taking a small portion of the water that whole ocean has to offer.

4 dead after shooting

Three people died after the shooting Tuesday night, and a fourth died early Wednesday, Washington Metropolitan Police officer Billy Allen told CNN. Six others remained hospitalized, he said.

A total of seven males and three females were injured, he said, but he did not know the sexes of those who died.

Authorities said multiple shooters opened fire on a crowd Tuesday night.

I don't know how things like this happens. how do the people get the mind set to go out in the street and open fire on a crowd of people. it saddens me to see that 4 people died and also that 6 more were injured in this shooting. i am truly sorry for the families that have been affected by this shooting and really hope that the police can keep something like this from happening again.

treaty

The agreement cuts by about one-third "the nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia will deploy," the president said. "It significantly reduces missiles and launchers. It puts in place a strong and effective verification regime. And it maintains the flexibility that we need to protect and advance our national security, and to guarantee our unwavering commitment to the security of our allies."

"Under the Treaty, the U.S. and Russia will be limited to significantly fewer strategic arms within seven years from the date the Treaty enters into force," the White House said in a news release. "Each Party has the flexibility to determine for itself the structure of its strategic forces within the aggregate limits of the Treaty."

I think that this is a good thing to have done. I feel that no one in the world need nuclear weapons. these weapons do nothing but destroy the world as we know it, because if one person fires a nuclear weapon, then another country will fire their nuclear bombs, thus causing a chain reaction with the world world. That is why i feel nuclear weapons should be destroyed.

F bomb

Biden also addressed his F-bomb when he was picked up on an open mic telling President Obama signing health care was "a big F#*king deal."

this shows the arrogance that Biden has. how do you the V.P. let something like that out, it doesn't show much character on his part. along with I haven't seen Biden do anything in office and he is truly a follower. once the Obama presidentce is over I feel that Biden will crawl under a rock and he will not be heard of again.

health care

"If we were unable to move the ball on this issue, not only in the political sense might we be dead," Biden said, according to the pool report filed on the event. "But in terms of being able to deal with other major issues on our plate, we would've been done. Absolutely done."

this a quote from Biden. i believe that he was right if Obama wasn't able to get health care to pass. He would just be a lame duck president. i cannot see Obama going two terms, because 66% of the population didn't want to see the health care pass. this bill ended Obama's run in politics.

Social Security Reform: The Problem and Proposed Solutions

Social Security is the US Government’s retirement income program. It covers almost all workers (e.g. most Federal, state and local Government workers are not covered; they have their own pension system). It is the primary source of retirement income for about two-thirds of American retirees. The other third either have defined benefit (provided by an employer, such as the GM pension plan) or a defined contribution plan (most commonly, a 401k plan) that the retiree contributed to while working.
Now because of the baby bombers’ retiring the Social Security is paying out more than it is taking in. This is where the problem comes in. Now that the SS is paying out more it is adding to our national debt, because we have to borrow money to pay the retirees. A solution that the web page thought of doing would be something like a pay as you go type deal. They would raise taxes to bring more money in to cover the extra money they have to pay out now.

In my opinion I would just turn the Social Security out to a private business that could manage the money and make sure it doesn't run out, because what the government has done clearly isn't working. The government has taken money out of Social Security without putting the money back into it. Maybe if it was in the hands of private business they could get it under control, and be able to turn it around. If this would happen Social Security will be around for when I retire.



Issue #2

Issue #1

Bill Clinton

Former President Clinton left a New York hospital early Friday, less than a day after doctors performed a procedure to restore blood flow in one of his coronary arteries.

I personally don't care for Clinton. He was not a very good president and he embarrassed the nation several times. The man's a millionaire and we get to pay for his health care? There's something seriously WRONG with that. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, seems to be the way of the democrats. Even though I don't care for your way of leading, I am to see that you are going to be okay. Death is nothing to celebrate about.

Pakistani Taliban leader killed

After reading the CNN report on the taliban leader death, no one has confirmed that he did indeed die. Also a source within the taliban said that he is still alive and will be sending a video to prove that. I feel that if we find a taliban leader and have him in our sights don't use a drone, I say use a jet and just wipe them from the face of the earth. Don't most of them want to die anyway, I mean they get their 72 virgins then.