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