Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Election Overview
When Barack Obama won the election, he did so by a larger margin then what was expected. He won the popular vote by 7% and received over 350 electoral votes, classifying his victory as a landslide. A large portion of his voters were people voting for the first time. Even though this group accounts for only 11% of all voters, it made a huge difference in determining the president. Exit polls showed that a whopping 73% of first time voters picked Obama. This was a result of excellent campaigning by Obama. John Edwards said once that "young voters like to have a cause to stand behind." Barack Obama gave them that cause: change The majority of the youth has been extremely displeased with the last 8 years, and did not want more of the same. Barack Obama ran on a platform to help every American, not just the rich ones. This tactic caused supporters to really connect with the candidate, much more so then they did with Kerry or Gore. Barack's ability to connect with all sorts of people, especially the youth, won him the election.
With Obama's victory, the senate, the house, and the president are all democratic. America has made it clear which party's agenda they want to follow. Even some states such as North Carolina and Indiana, that are usually red, turned blue with this election. This poses a major problem for the Republican Party. It is well known that most Republican support comes from very wealthy whites and rural southern whites. In this election McCain won only 5% of black voters, and only 33% of latino voters. The Republican party will have to change its platform to broaden its range of voters, especially since it is predicted that by 2042, whites will account for less than half of the American population. The Rupublican Party will also have to do better with the urban and younger voters if they want a chance of winning in the near future.
With Obama's victory, the senate, the house, and the president are all democratic. America has made it clear which party's agenda they want to follow. Even some states such as North Carolina and Indiana, that are usually red, turned blue with this election. This poses a major problem for the Republican Party. It is well known that most Republican support comes from very wealthy whites and rural southern whites. In this election McCain won only 5% of black voters, and only 33% of latino voters. The Republican party will have to change its platform to broaden its range of voters, especially since it is predicted that by 2042, whites will account for less than half of the American population. The Rupublican Party will also have to do better with the urban and younger voters if they want a chance of winning in the near future.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Joe vs. Sam
In the most recent debate, an average blue collar worker was made famous overnight. The man and his situation were brought up a combined 23 times between Obama and McCain. Joe was his name. A plumber was his profession. Days earlier he had expressed his concern to Barack Obama about his proposed tax plan. Barack Obama's plan says that he will not raise taxes on anyone making over $250,000 a year. In fact, he will lower the income tax for the people in this category. People making over the sum, will be required to pay a slightly higher percentage tax on their income.
Joe the plumber was not happy with this plan. He was planning to buy the plumbing company he has worked for, and was concerned that he would have to pay more should he be able to make more then $250,000 a year. Joe's question has brought up a new point to be used in attack against Obama. McCain stated that this tax hike will hurt all small business owners and only make our current economic sittuation worse. How true are these claims?
The fact is that most small business owners DO NOT make $250,000 a year. In fact, not to many Americans make that much money at all. Even the average wage for doctors and lawers is about $150,000, which is only 3/5ths of $250,000. Acconrding to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average small business makes $35,000 - $70,000 a year. Barack's tax cuts would help small businesses much more than McCain's would. There are about 1.3 million Americans that make $250,000, and most of those people are either entertainment or sports figures, corperate CEOs, investment brokers and speculators, sales proffessionals, top quality attourneys and doctors, and those whore are born into money. An extra $15,000 off of their yearly income would not in any way harm the economy.
Yes, there is a very small percentage of small business owners that DO make more than $250,000 a year. One would expect most of them to have oppinions such as Joe's. That was not the case with Sam, an owner of about 100 gas stations in Southern California. Sam will be voting democrat for the first time in his life this year. Even though he will be taxed slightly more under the new plan, he knows that it is better for America. Gas stations only make a few cents of profit per gallon sold. Most of the income is generated from the convinence stores attached to the station. Sam has said, "If people are hurting, I make less on gas, and that right now, people aren't buying." Sam realizes that with a stronger middle class, everyone benefits.
Article about "Sam" by John Seery
Who makes 250,000? Article
Fox news responds to Obama's reply to "Joe"
Joe the plumber was not happy with this plan. He was planning to buy the plumbing company he has worked for, and was concerned that he would have to pay more should he be able to make more then $250,000 a year. Joe's question has brought up a new point to be used in attack against Obama. McCain stated that this tax hike will hurt all small business owners and only make our current economic sittuation worse. How true are these claims?
The fact is that most small business owners DO NOT make $250,000 a year. In fact, not to many Americans make that much money at all. Even the average wage for doctors and lawers is about $150,000, which is only 3/5ths of $250,000. Acconrding to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average small business makes $35,000 - $70,000 a year. Barack's tax cuts would help small businesses much more than McCain's would. There are about 1.3 million Americans that make $250,000, and most of those people are either entertainment or sports figures, corperate CEOs, investment brokers and speculators, sales proffessionals, top quality attourneys and doctors, and those whore are born into money. An extra $15,000 off of their yearly income would not in any way harm the economy.
Yes, there is a very small percentage of small business owners that DO make more than $250,000 a year. One would expect most of them to have oppinions such as Joe's. That was not the case with Sam, an owner of about 100 gas stations in Southern California. Sam will be voting democrat for the first time in his life this year. Even though he will be taxed slightly more under the new plan, he knows that it is better for America. Gas stations only make a few cents of profit per gallon sold. Most of the income is generated from the convinence stores attached to the station. Sam has said, "If people are hurting, I make less on gas, and that right now, people aren't buying." Sam realizes that with a stronger middle class, everyone benefits.
Article about "Sam" by John Seery
Who makes 250,000? Article
Fox news responds to Obama's reply to "Joe"
Thursday, October 2, 2008
What it takes to be President
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-m-bartels/c-students-welcome_b_131170.html
For my fourth blog post assignment, I read Larry M. Bartels's article "C Students Welcome" on the Huffington Post blog site. The article addressed Sarah Palin and her debate against Joe Biden tonight. In her previous interviews she has been criticized, rightfully so in my opinion, for not having the knowledge to be the VP. Tonight she can either step up and prove skeptics wrong, or make herself ignorant to the issues compared to Biden.
What surprised me in the article was that most people do not even care that much about a candidates knowledge. In a survey conducted by the National Election Study Team, reports show that knowledge is the least important of 4 major issues a president should have. It was placed significantly lower than being a strong leader, caring about the people, and having proper morals. only 1.3% of participants said that they would change their vote because of the intelligence of their candidate. This statistic greatly surprised me because I value intelligence and knowledge of the issues extremely important for a president to have.
For my fourth blog post assignment, I read Larry M. Bartels's article "C Students Welcome" on the Huffington Post blog site. The article addressed Sarah Palin and her debate against Joe Biden tonight. In her previous interviews she has been criticized, rightfully so in my opinion, for not having the knowledge to be the VP. Tonight she can either step up and prove skeptics wrong, or make herself ignorant to the issues compared to Biden.
What surprised me in the article was that most people do not even care that much about a candidates knowledge. In a survey conducted by the National Election Study Team, reports show that knowledge is the least important of 4 major issues a president should have. It was placed significantly lower than being a strong leader, caring about the people, and having proper morals. only 1.3% of participants said that they would change their vote because of the intelligence of their candidate. This statistic greatly surprised me because I value intelligence and knowledge of the issues extremely important for a president to have.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Good Fantasy Football Blog
I am in a 12 team fantasy football league, and as of now, I am in 2nd place. My team has a lot of depth, so many times I have trouble deciding what RBs and WRs to sit or start. http://www.rotowire.com/blogs/blog.htm?sp=nfl
is a blog that i found that will help me make my decisions. There is a list of about 7 bloggers who rank players of every position every week. I am glad about this because there are many opinions to consider, so I can listen to who I like. This blog will give me more information and insights than I would be able to find anywhere else.
is a blog that i found that will help me make my decisions. There is a list of about 7 bloggers who rank players of every position every week. I am glad about this because there are many opinions to consider, so I can listen to who I like. This blog will give me more information and insights than I would be able to find anywhere else.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Market getting better?
In this blog, I read that today the market stopped its sharp decrease, and some stocks actually started to regain value. Personally, I thought that the market would continue to get worse, so I restrained from purchasing any stock. If i could have bought yesterday, and sold today, I could have made some money. The big name futures like the DOW, the S&P, and NASDAQ have each increased in value from yesterday. http://www.stockdollars.blogspot.com/ gives you the details of the market in an easy to find place.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Are we the dumbest generation?
After reading Boston.com's "8 reasons why this is the dumbest generation," I saw that the article had facts about our generation that are unfortunately true. I do strongly disagree though that we are the dumbest generation. I just think that we do not take advantage of all the technology and opportunities for us to excel and learn.
For example, the internet is a great resource for us to obtain knowledge, and it is much more efficient than spending hours browsing through books at a library. Besides making it easier to learn for school, the internet gives us access to thousands of sites that talk about current issues and other topics for independent learning. This is why I was very surprised and angry to hear that a quarter of high school graduates do not know who Dick Cheney is. This is why I was very surprised and angry to hear that only half of high school graduates know who our allies in WWII were. Instead taking full advantage of the internet to learn, we waste way too much time playing video games and going on facebook.
We are certainly not the dumbest generation. Increased competitiveness for college spots and higher IQ scores are proof of that. But with the resources available to us now a days, we should be so much smarter about the issues of the past and the present. Just like our technology is exponentially getting better, we too should be growing exponentially smarter.
For example, the internet is a great resource for us to obtain knowledge, and it is much more efficient than spending hours browsing through books at a library. Besides making it easier to learn for school, the internet gives us access to thousands of sites that talk about current issues and other topics for independent learning. This is why I was very surprised and angry to hear that a quarter of high school graduates do not know who Dick Cheney is. This is why I was very surprised and angry to hear that only half of high school graduates know who our allies in WWII were. Instead taking full advantage of the internet to learn, we waste way too much time playing video games and going on facebook.
We are certainly not the dumbest generation. Increased competitiveness for college spots and higher IQ scores are proof of that. But with the resources available to us now a days, we should be so much smarter about the issues of the past and the present. Just like our technology is exponentially getting better, we too should be growing exponentially smarter.
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