Smart Move?

President Obama is proposing an education overhaul that would rid our country of No Child Left Behind. Instead of basing standards around grade-level proficiency, they would focus on preparing students for college or a career. He is also proposing a $4 billion increase in spending toward US education which hasn't happened in 45 years.

Ignorance is not Bliss

President Barack Obama isn't afriad of the big bad GOP no siree! They continue to threaten a repeal of the health care bill, but the President believes this would have negative repercussions for the party in the next election. I don't know about that, people are throwing rocks through windows at Democratic headquarters around the country. But I do not think it will get anywhere.

Shh, We Don't Want to Know

The military is looking into repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. That sentence all on it's own sounds pretty progressive and unbelievable. Let me rephrase it. President Obama is asking the military to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. This has brought up the issue of whether the homosexual partners would receive the same benefits as heterosexual couples. Only married couples with proof of a marriage certificate get these benefits and only five states allow gay marriage which makes it far more likely the gay couples will not have a certificate. Does this mean they cannot get the same benefits? Would the benefits have to then be opened for all couples? Too many questions, let's just ignore the issue. Sounds like a better idea right? I agree with some legal person MSNBC interviewed who said that we shouldn't worry about these little details until after repealing the policy.

Misleading Numbers

The job loss in manufacturing is misleading. The US is actually still producing a lot manufactured goods. The production of these goods just don't require as many laborers as they once did. It's mostly machine run now. We produce products with higher market values than the t-shirts and whatnot manufactured overseas.

Earning Their Pay

I'm not sure if the article was referring to yesterday or this coming Monday. Assuming it means this coming Monday, it looks like our fine Senators are going to be pulling an all-nighter. Don't get too excited, they'll be spending it working. It seems Republicans are against the Jobs bill for unstated reasons (in this article at least). The overnighter will "burn the 30 hours of post-cloture debate allowed by Senate rules." I should know what that means since I am in AP government, but I really don't.

Yawn, This Still?

I'm going to talk about health care. Again. Yeah, it's getting a bit tedious. Instead of the up or down vote Obama was calling for, Pelosi is attempting to make some political move. It's called "self-executing rule" which frankly, I don't really understand. Something to do with voting and still be able to make changes? Ok so there is a follow-up vote in both chambers of Congress over some packet of changes. I'm not sure why Republicans are so upset about this move. This might be due to the fact I lack understanding of the process.

Again? Seriously?

Weird, but I swear I read an article almost identical to this one last year. Abortion is yet again holding the health care reform bill back. Some think it too strict, invading on a women's right to privacy or something. Others are horrified that any form of government money may trinkle into abortion clinics. Frankly this seems like an ant on a tree and yet we are letting it tear down the whole forest. That doesn't make much sense. Anyway, it's ridiculous that our Congressmen let themselves get caught up in these things. Gah!