So Long, Friends

THIS BRINGS THE ELECTION CONNECTION TO A CLOSE, HOPE EVERYONE'S ELECTION YEAR WAS AS ENJOYABLE AS MINE!  WE SHALL RECONVINE IN 4 YEARS :)

Making It Relevant #2

With Obama's new federal healthcare plan, many states found themselves conflicted as to what health care system they should take up.  However, the states were now given until mid-December to come up with their plans, instead of one week which was the original deadline.  States also have an option of setting up a joint state-federal healthcare plan, in which they will have until February to finalize the details.  We see traces of federalist issues constantly recurring!  Had the founding fathers left all of the decisions up to the federal government, all of the states would be required to adhere to Obamacare.  However, because our country opted for a more self-governed country by the states, each state now has to decide which health care route it would rather take.

Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/09/states-will-get-more-time-to-work-on-health-care-plans/

Final News Flash

President Obama comes out on top after all.  After his re-election, President Obama received a phone call from Mitt Romney that was said to be "a very classy gesture," according to Obama.  After receiving this call, the first person the President phoned was Bill Clinton, to thank him for all of his help  in his campaign.  Time will tell what the next four years have in store for us!  Thanks for following! (Final "Making It Relevant" is on its way!)

Read more at:
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2012/11/07/after-winning-re-election-obama-thanked-romney-then-called-clinton

Guess What...

HAPPY ELECTION DAY TO ALL! WE'RE JUST HOURS AWAY FROM FINDING OUT WHO OUR NEXT PRESIDENT WILL BE.  Nerve-racking, i know.

News Flash #6

The election is just days away, and now that hurricane Sandy has settled down, the candidates are executing their final campaigns.  Romney started in Florida, where he is said to have a slight lead, to try and secure the rest of their votes.  He began "by asking Americans to help the storm victims, then resumed his argument that he can improve the country's bleak economic situation." 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/31/campaigns-restart-florida-while-romney-eyes-minnesota-pennsylvania/#ixzz2Atnb3EQl

News Flash #5

With the election less than two weeks away, there is no time to waste.  This seems like the perfect time for a history-making hurricane to creep along the east cost, right?  Wrong.  While much of the country is focusing on hurricane Sandy, many refuse to shift their focus off of the attacks on the American embassy in Libya.  Both Obama and Romney were forced to cancel some appearances due to the storm, however voters are still thirsting for answers about the terrorist attacks before they are ready to cast their votes.  With only 8 days left until the election, things are still getting interesting as far as foreign policy goes!

Read the full article at:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/28/republicans-say-obama-handling-libya-not-hurricane-is-real-election-concern/

And for those of you that missed the last presidential debate, here's a recap video:

And, an added plus- debate zingers!

News Flash #4

With the final presidential debate looming around the corner, thigns are about to get heated.  Foreign policy will definitely be one of the hot topics of the evening, specifically the attacks on the American embassies in Libya.  Just as in the last debate the candidates are expected to be getting in eachothers faces and interrupting one another as they try to make the best of their last chance to speak in front of millions Americans before the debate.


Read the article:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/22/obama-romney-look-for-foreign-policy-edge-in-final-debate/

In other news, Romney's elecoral vote count recently surpasse Obama's by 7 votes.  With a constant flip flop between the leading candidate, this years election should be pretty close!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/18/romney-opens-up-7-point-lead-over-obama-as-campaigns-hunker-down-in-swing/?intcmp=obinsite

Making It Relevant

In a recent statement Mitt Romney criticized Obama for causing gas prices to escalate more than they have ever in the past.  Romney has promised to focus more on domestic fuel development as opposed to international supplies of fuel.  The citizens of the US are infuriated with the exorbitant gas prices and are looking for a change.  Similarly, one of the main triggers for the colonists to revolt against the king were the high prices on their basic goods and high taxes.  Unwilling to put up with it anymore, the colonists began their journey to independence, paving the road for us today.  Taking a stand on high prices has proven to stimulate soe change and will be a necessary tool in the years to come.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/14/romney-making-gas-prices-domestic-energy-top-campaign-issues/

News Flash #3

The race has become neck and neck!  With Obama's poor performance in his presidential debate against Romney, he claims to have had a "bad night."  The snapshot of the voting chart below (foxnews.com) shows that while in the beginning Obama maintained a substantial lead, that gap is now closing and the runner of the election changes frequently.  Neither Obama or Romney are ready to stop fighting with all their efforts, and with only 4 weeks left now is not the time for any falling outs.

Read the full article:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/10/obama-admits-having-bad-night-but-denies-debate-changed-race-fundamentals/

In other news, Obama and Romney are fighting over sesame street.  Romney's mention of cutting funds for public television triggered the campaign attacks.  View the full news report here:

News Flash #2

With the election just weeks away, tensions are running high--obviously.  Both candidates were accused of campaigning too negatively against one another.  In response to this, Mitt Romney has focused more on his policy specifics rather than criticizing Obama's plans.  Romney had a bit of a setback after bluntly claiming that 47% of Americans rely too much on the government for their funds, but he is ready to fight back after his reportedly rough week.
To learn more check out:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/23/romney-defends-campaign-republican-complaints?newsfeed=true

In other news, Obama held a rally at a barn that was reserved for a couple's wedding in Iowa.  In the end everything was okay, his event ended before the wedding and everyone was happy.  Alls well that ends well.
Watch the clip:
http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2012/09/20/dnt-ia-obama-disrupts-wedding.kcci.html

News Flash #1

In a news posting on CNN titled "Young People, Don't Vote for Obama" young Republican writer Alex Schriver writes an article in response to Yale sophomore writer Jack Schlossberg's article "Young Voters, Don't Give Up on Obama."  In the article he addresses why he thinks young voters should be criticizing President Obama and promoting Mitt Romney for a number of reasons including national debt, unemployment rates, and general lack of change that was promised by Obama's "Yes we can" campaign in 2008.  This small back and forth between the young voters demonstrates the youth's involvement and passion about this years election.  Very often the "younger crowds" feel lost in the election process, so although some of these articles are a tad biased based on the writer's political views, such articles make the convoluted web of politics a little more easy to sort through.  So while both candidates are adamantly working on improving life for seniors and adults, it is equally critical that they put enough emphasis on the issues that the young voters are passionate about as well.  Stay tuned!

Schriver's article:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/opinion/schriver-schlossberg-rebuttal/index.html?hpt=po_c2

Schlossberg's aricle:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/04/opinion/schlossberg-young-voters-obama/index.html

Candidate Number Three

Candidate: Jill Stein

Date and Place of Birth: May 14, 1950 Chicago, Illinois

Place of residence prior to election: Lexington, Massachusetts

University attended: Harvard College and Harvard Medical School

Family: Husband- Richard, sons- Ben and Noah

Energy and the Environment: Stein's plans include an four-part initiative called "Green New Deal" to try and offer new jobs, while combatting the environmental and climate issues.  She intends to provide jobs to anyone in America who is willing to work, while providing all workers with their basic rights and needs.  Funding for this project will predominantly come from budget cuts to the military, while simultaneously bringing troops home.
          Her green economy and environment plans extend towards businesses as well as industries and other corporations.  She intense to delve into research to lower pollution levels while creating a more sustainable, energy-efficient environment.

Financial Reform: Stein hopes to reduce debt such as student loans that are holding back the economy.  In short, she hopes to take down the large banks and turn them into more localized banks.

For the full video on her presentation see below:

http://www.jillstein.org/green_new_deal

Candidate Number Two

  Candidate: Mitt Romney

  Birthdate and Place: March 12, 1947 in Detroit, MIchigan 
  (woohoo!)

  Place of residence prior to election: Massachusetts

  University Attended: Brigham Young University, Harvard 
  Law, Harvard Business School

  Family: Wife- Ann, five sons, eighteen grandchildren

Jobs and Economy:
Romney's goal: "restore America to the path of robust economic growth necessary to create jobs."  He intends to reduce spending, taxes, and regulation money going to waste.  At the same time he hopes to increase trade and energy production.  How does he plan to do this?  Mainly by granting more power to the states to act more autonomously, while relieving some of the unnecessary burden off of federal branches of government.

Foreign Policy:
Romney wants to make sure there are no question marks in his foreign policy among America's allies.  He obviously is against Iran obtaining any nuclear power and understands the danger it places on the Middle East, specifically to Israel--one of the Us's main allies--as well as Europe, and the United States as well.  He is pushing for a fifth set of sanctions targeting Iran's central bank to try and cut off their funding and stop their desire for such nuclear weapons.  Romney also condemns Obama for the way in which he tried dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict.  Romney believes the most important priority is to make sure Israel has the safety and security it needs.  He is also pushing for direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis--without pursuit of a UN-recognized Palestine, or any involvement of the terrorist group Hamas.

Government Spending/Healthcare:
Romney intends to reduce federal spending in part by condensing the federal government.  Instead his plans are to cut budgets and place the power in the hands of the states and its citizens.  Romney believes that the Obambacare healthcare is too government-oriented.  His plan is a more localized state by state analysis to determine the best healthcare plan. 

*www.mittromney.com

Candidate Number One

Candidate: Barack Obama: The 44th American President

Birthdate and Place: August 4, 1961 Hawaii

Place of residence prior to election: Chicago

University Attended: Harvard Law School

Family: Wife- Michelle Obama, Kids- Malia 13, Sasha 10.

Jobs and the Economy*:
In 2008, when Obama first came in to office he passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to cut taxes of small businesses and the majority of families.  Up until now, 4.4 million jobs have been added to the working class of the economy.  He also plans to invest in clean energy technology to help better the environment as a whole in accordance with the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership.  Obama also created the National Export Initiative to help businesses compete in the world-wide marketplace.

Education:
President Obama focused on different aspects of the education system this past term.  He passed a law to help make it easier for college students to pay back their federal loans. His goals extend both to keep teachers employed at school and students enrolled in school at least until they are 18 years old.  He implemented the "Race to the Top" program to reward individual states for their progress such as improving their teachers, etc.

Taxes:
 Since his inauguration President Obama has insitituted many tax cuts.  First, he cut taxes for about 95% of working familise.  Additionally, he cut many taxes for small businesses and those of "lower-income."  To pick up the slack, he turned to the wealthier people in the country--the millionairs and billionairs--and asked them to give their share.  However, anyone with an income udner $250,000, their taxes would not go up.

*www.barackobama.com

Here We Go...

Welcome to my blog for Senior Government 2012!  Here I'll be posting information and updates about this year's upcoming election. Stay tuned!