Criticism "This is scary......"

When I started to read this blog I thought that it had a good title and the beginning had a good hook to keep me interested in reading more. I see the concern that Dan has about the Diebold voting machines, since they can be hacked in about a minute. When I got to the part where Dan mentions that the Diebold voting machines also made the ATM machines that I use practically everyday is when I started to get frightened. Changing the votes for a presidential election is one thing but when you start talking about a person’s money is where people begin getting scared. Also, I do agree with Dan’s solution to the problem with using Diebold machines by using paper printouts instead.

http://danspolitical.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-is-scary.html

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8450066719339507170&postID=2097912106236618548

Thoughts on Iraq War

One of the top National issues of the moment is the War in Iraq. Everyone has their own opinions of the War; even not caring about the war is an opinion people have about what’s going on in Iraq. The War can also be split up into smaller issues, such as the troops that are fighting in Iraq, the money being spent in Iraq, and the goal that we are reaching to achieve in the War.
There have been many soldiers sent to Iraq to help keep the peace. The problem is that the troops might be causing more trouble then being a help to restoring peace in Iraq. Our troops are dying in Iraq and they should all be sent back to their homes and families.
The money being spent on the War in Iraq is ridiculous. We have spent over $450 billion dollars already on the War. Also, President Bush has already requested another $196 billion dollars to be spent on the War next year for upgrades to the armored vehicles and other uses.
The goals that we have for Iraq keep changing. At first goal was to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Then the goal was to install a Democratic government in Iraq. Helping Iraq change to a Democratic government is a hard job and it’s costing us many lives and a lot of money.
We have ended the threat of Saddam Hussein and the terrorists so we should leave Iraq and allow them to work out things for themselves. We should stop the growing death count in Iraq because the soldiers should be back in their homes prepared to defend our country from new threats to the safety of the citizens.

Iraq Casualties Down

From the Washington Post website an editorial that does not specify an author writes about the death caused by hostile action being substantially lower then past months. The questioning of a U.S. Military report that said casualties in Iraq were down sparked this editorial. Also, Hillary Clinton’s challenge of the testimony given by General David H. Petraeus, who said that “civilian casualties have risen.” The death total in the month of September 2007 is the lowest since July of 2006 and one of the five lowest since the beginning of the war. The numbers are surprising considering the number of troops being deployed in more hostile areas. Last year during the Muslim month of Ramadan there were nearly 100 deaths but luckily this year death the death total is closer to 40 deaths and Ramadan is almost at an end.
Unfortunately, it is hard to predict if this casualty trend will keep its pace or increase rapidly. One of the possible reasons for the decrease in deaths could be the Sunni tribes in Anbar province switching sides and declaring war on the al-Qaeda. Even if this is a temporary decrease in action I feel, it could be a good time to decrease the amount of troops in Iraq to keep the death totals from rising once again. Even though the war is not over and General Petraeus believes that there is no letup to the bloodshed in Iraq, due to the decrease in hostile force it would be easier to evacuate soldiers and return them home safely.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/13/AR2007101301071.html

No Child Left Behind

From The New York Times website, Diane Ravitch speaks about what she believes to be some of the flaws of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 developed by the Bush administration. The basic goal of the law is to have all the children in the United States to be proficient in both reading and mathematics by 2014. Similar to Diane Ravitch’s view I don’t believe that a goal such as that is reasonable. If realistic goals were set to satisfy the public then they would feel as if the Act was making progress instead of failing miserably. Ravitch also mentions that Congressional leaders plan to renew the law with minor changes when they should make major changes to improve the chances on making the No Child Left Behind Act successful. I think that the Act has good intentions but lacks something to allow it a fighting chance to improve the academic minds of the youth. It seems to me that the federal government has severe punishments for the schools and states if the target they have set for the students is not met. But they allow the states to develop their own tests to challenge the student, which makes me think that the states wouldn’t make the tests too difficult. They also give the student the chance to change schools to hopefully improve the chances of passing the test, but it seems that the students are either unaware of that option or uninterested. I feel that if the federal government believes in this goal that they should be the ones to create and administer the tests so the results would be unbiased. Also, standardized tests are important in gauging the academic knowledge of the youth but I feel that there is too much pressure put on the student to perform well on the standardized tests. If there was some way to still tests the child but not place an unhealthy stress on them I believe that there is a possibility to improve the overall performance of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Obama's Tax Cut Proposals

Promises about lowing taxes and putting more money back into the voters’ pockets is the way to get elected to Presidency. Barack Obama is a Democratic Presidential Candidate, who believes he can cut $80 billion dollars in taxes on workers, seniors and homeowners. Obama does not explain in specific about his plans but he does list some tax credits and mention eliminating income tax for seniors. Obama says that the tax code is not fair and he plans on a tax code that rewards its workers and advance opportunities by closing corporate tax loopholes. The article also talks in short detail about Hilary Clinton’s tax proposals as well as John Edward’s plan on raising the taxes on those making over $250,000. When a person is casting their vote they tend to pick the candidate they believe best embodies their values and positions on issues, and one of the most important issues that tend to sway a person’s vote is the issue of money. This article is good to read because you are able to see candidate’s plans on how they will give back money to the workers and seniors and if you fall under their plans.

This article:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/nation/09/19/0919obama.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild54_prod=3gRhGy9pTqH6qb0v0m61GS4q3vbT3RnWWQwjc2hCqZ22Bh28NL8J!370353210&UrAuth=`NXNUOaNTUbTTUWUXUVUZTZUUUWU^UVUZU]U[UcTYWYWZV&urcm=y

If you are interested in other candidates tax plan’s you can go to:
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/Presidential_Elections/Where_They_Stand_Taxes.html