Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Government Shutdown


Every year Congress has to agree on a budget to fund the government. The fiscal year ended on Monday Sept. 30, but Congress was unable come to an agreement about the best way to use federal funds. Without a budget, essentially a law passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate to pay employees and fund programs for the new fiscal year, the government effectively shut down at midnight on Oct. 1.

“The Republican-dominated House passed two spending bill amendments Sunday morning -- one that would delay Obamacare for a year and one that would repeal the Obamacare's medical device tax. The bill went back to the Senate, where Democrats who control that chamber have consistently said any changes to Obamacare would be a deal-killer”.

Republicans are refusing to vote to fund the government unless Obamacare is repealed/defunded.
Democrats and the Administration are unwilling to peel back their biggest achievement over the last five years to appease Republicans.
Differences between Democrats and Republicans are deepening over virtually every issue and federal spending is the biggest one of all.
How The Shutdown is Affecting Services
 ·      About 800,000 federal workers furloughed
·      The military's 1.4 million active-duty personnel remain on duty, their paychecks delayed
·      NASA is furloughing almost all its employees
·      Air traffic controllers and screeners staying on the job
·      Federal courts continue to operate
·      Mail deliveries continue since U.S. Postal Service is not funded by tax dollars
·      Most Homeland Security employees continue to work
·      Most veterans' services continue because they are funded in advance
·      National Parks and Smithsonian museums closing


A government shutdown will not affect Obamacare though. Most of the money for Obamacare comes from new taxes and fees, as well as from cost cuts to other programs like Medicare and other types of funding that will continue despite the government shutdown. Obamacare is supposedly meant to benefit many uninsured Americans, but it seems like it has become an even bigger problem due to the shut down. The government could lose an estimated $200 million a day and could see more than 700,000 jobs take a financial hit if the federal government shut down. In addition to the economic impact, area residents could also see cuts in federal services.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Syrian conflict


The situation between President Obama and the Syrian government is hanging on by a thread. The US has declared war on Syria if they refuse to let go of their chemical weapons. Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, used chemical weapons to calm a strike against his regime on August 21, killing thousands. Russia proposed to Syria to hand over the weapons to inspectors to avoid a military strike. The US Congress was skeptical about this statement because Russia has always opposed us that’s why the US in not trying to solve this problem through the United Nations. The Syrian uprising has been an ongoing conflict since 2011 caused by political uncertainty and opposition of the Baathist regime.
I think this topic is really interesting because it is weird to think that I am living something so recent and that will end up in a history textbook. This topic was a catalyst to many debates as to what to do with weapons or whether to start a new war to protect people.

http://abcnews.go.com

*I also used previous knowledge on this topic from school


Sunday, September 1, 2013

My political views

To be honest, I am politically neutral.
I don't have a strong view on politics because my parents never really let me watch the news; I would get nightmares. I lived in Mexico in my early teens and all that would be shown would be violent acts and corruption.
But recently I have read articles online about how same-sex marriage is causing people to stir up and protest against it. I personally believe that love is love and if it doesn't affect you or pertain to you, then let it be.
I also hope that in the near future immigration is perceived as a positive thing and people see it as a chance to have more cultural diversity. As a White-Hispanic female I often encounter the need to"choose" my race. People judge and can be harsh when it comes to the touchy topic of racism. Why is race such a big deal? I understand nationalism but it doesn't mean that you can just assume that everything outside your bubble is terrible and a waste of space.