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.