One of the most misunderstood amendments the Constitution has, is under attack. It isn’t from the government passing the PATRIOT Act, it isn’t from a radical militia roaming the streets, the first amendment is under attack by ignorance.
Connie Heermann, a teacher in Indiana , was suspended for 18 months with no pay, for allowing her students to read a book about overcoming adversity. The school board found the book inappropriate because there were swear words in the book. Connie said on an interview with CNN: “This is how they speak, this is what they relate to.” Connie was reprimanded for giving her students a book to read, even after she had given out permission forms the student’s had to have their parents signed.
In 2006, the Supreme Court took up a case involving a high school student who was suspended over a “Bong Hits For Jesus” banner. The Court ruled in favor of the School, citing that “It was reasonable for (the principal) to conclude that the banner promoted illegal drug use– and that failing to act would send a powerful message to the students in her charge,”
In 2005, Protestors demonstrated outside of a soldier’s funeral. The soldier died in Iraq, and the Protestors carried signs saying “God Hates Fags“, “Pope In Hell” and, “God Hates the United States” Extra police were called in to protect the rights of the protestors.
Where have we gone as a nation? The first amendment was to protect people from persectution for speaking their mind. When was it considered acceptable to carry “God Hates Fags” signs at a hero’s funeral, but the moment we curse in the classroom, or talk about Jesus, we must immediately retract our statements. I don’t know about anyone else, but if a man wants to burn an American flag on his front lawn, I let him. Sure, I may flip him off, or curse at him as I walk by, but that is his RIGHT to express himself, and that is my RIGHT to express myself. While disrepectful, his demonstration is not disturbing the peace. It is not blocking traffic. We need to grasp the fact that no one has the same the views on everything. Democrats, Republicans, gay, straight, teachers, students, supreme court, guy burning a flag on his lawn, we all live under one roof; America. It is time that we start respecting the fact that people are allowed to speak their opinion as long as it does not put anyone else in danger. We need to learn to respect that I may say Jesus and you may say Mohammed We need to learn to respect that I may be straight and you may be gay. We need to learn how to respect one another enough to see that although what someone else is saying may be offensive, it is our right to say it, and it is our right to defend it.
If you have been feeling down and blue with no explanation lately don’t fear. Not yet President Barack Obama has left the country. He recently embarked on a world tour, focusing on the Middle East and Europe. That explains your recent sadness.
Also if you somehow realized that Brian Williams, Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson have been replaced this week, well Barack invited them along. What about me Barack? If you want St. John’s University’s most influential blogger on your side you damn well better take me along next time!
Now there is a lot of media attention to this tour. If he screws up it’ll be everywhere. I recommend he doesn’t eat the Wendy’s Baconator in Baghdad. Let’s see if he screws up.
So Senator Chuck Hagel went along with Barack Obama to Afghanistan to meet with President Hamid Karzai. Below is a picture of Senator Hagel with President Karzai.
So his meeting with Hamid Karzai went well, he didn’t screw anything up. But surely he’ll make some sort of mistake, maybe he’ll screw up the name of a city or a country.
Yea… like that. The Iraq – Pakistan border. Otherwise known as Iran…..
Well well well…after being laughed at and disrespected in public by both John McCain and George Bush, Barack Obama has proven (once again) to be correct: Diplomacy is indeed the best option. The Bush Adminstration has decided that they will send diplomats to Switzerland where they will meet Iranian diplomats the discuss the escalating tensions between the two nations.
Could it be that our founding fathers were actually intellegent? Could their philosophy of non-interventionism actually works? Could I ask any more obvious questions? People describe Barack Obama as an insane liberal who is going to raise your taxes and let gays have rights. Yet, what could be more “conservative” than returning to a foreign policy of reason? No more wars of agression, no more manipulation, no more unnecessary spending on governments that supress democracy. Barack Obama is apparently no more radical than the Declaration of Independence.
From Barackobama.com
The Problem: The United States is trapped by the Bush-Cheney approach to diplomacy that refuses to talk to leaders we don’t like. Not talking doesn’t make us look tough – it makes us look arrogant, it denies us opportunities to make progress, and it makes it harder for America to rally international support for our leadership. On challenges ranging from terrorism to disease, nuclear weapons to climate change, we cannot make progress unless we can draw on strong international support.
A leader who looks at the world and sees oppurtunity, hope, and potential progress? Pinch me I must be dreaming.
Why 3.8 million dollars? 3.8 million dollars represents the record setting fine that Freddie Mac had to pay to the Federal Election Commission for hosting over 75 fund raising events for members of ONE house committee in an 18 month period.
This amount does not include the combined 3.5 million dollars spent by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in lobbying fees for the first THREE months of this year ALONE. (more…)
Today Shamil Rodriguez stated exclusively to the St. John’s University College Democrats Blog that he was officially dropping out of the race for Development Director for the College Democrats of America. The following below is the official press release:
Dear Friends,
I’m writing you today to inform you of my decision not to run for Development Director of CDA. This decision came about after much contemplation and solemn thought.
These past few years have been monumental for the Democratic Party. We’ve seen our country take a turn that none of us would have expected, and now is the time to get back on the right track. Although we are all members of the Democratic Party, it is important to recognize our unique identity as college students. College students have always been at the forefront of every battle, whether it is taking up arms to free an entire continent from an oppressive regime, or standing still in front of an oncoming tank. As College Democrats we are the promise of this nation. We are what our elders, the youth, of this country are putting their hope in.
I began my CDA Development Director campaign to remind college students that we must do better if we want to live up to the great promise of this country that we all love. I have dedicated almost four years of my life to the College Democrats of America and now that hard work has paid off with an opportunity with the New York State Democratic Party. I have been given the chance to stand as my ancestors have, and fight the good fight of ensuring democracy. I have learned much from my years as a College Democrat and I believe it is time for me to step aside so that we can pass the torch to a new generation of college activists. We do not know who will take the final steps to Denver, but what we do know is that the College Democrats will make history. We will be strong, we will be unified, and with our ideas and a new generation of progressive leaders we’ll reinvigorate hope and opportunity for this country again.
I am so proud to have had all of my supporters who chose to stand with me; I cannot thank all of you enough. Whether it was a few minutes of time or a few dollars out of your budget, you made the sacrifice to see the reforms and changes you believed in. Know that whatever you sacrificed has not been wasted. You have been an instrumental piece of a movement in history. A moment when a young generation realized their duties and their goals. A moment that the spirit of our forefathers enlightened us all to become active in these troubling times. A moment when we knew what had to be done to make this country right again.
The future for all of us is an uncertainty. Great things wait for us all on the other side of life. Helen Keller once said, “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” In these troubling times, as people begin to lose hope, it is important that we keep our head above the water. I look at my friends today and see a group of optimistic leaders. I see future Senators, future Governors, and even a few potential Presidents. We are one family all striving for the same goals. Together with our diversity, hope, dedication, and common purpose we can perpetuate the spirit of the College Democrats of America.
So today we have Shamil Rodriguez, Chair of the Hispanic Caucus of the College Democrats of America sitting down with me for our latest installment of Better Know A Member.
CP: So Shamil, why did you decide to become a democrat?
SR: My father went toIraq and came back injured and he wanted me to go more on the education route. And he was afraid that I would be treated the same way he was, so for me, I just saw the war and I said why couldn’t I be one of those decision makers. Why can’t I be one of those guys that makes the decisions.
CP: So, you were president of College Democrats two years ago, what was it like 2 years ago?
SR: We used to have two meetings, it was a lot of infrastructure development. Our biggest concern was just being able to have consistent meetings and being able to have a few programs a year and increasing membership. We were unknown to everyone, people didn’t even know if there was a college democrats chapter on campus.
CP: So what was your biggest obstacle then?
SR: Increasing members, and increasing the active membership and developing infrastructure. Our executive board saw first hand what could happen to an organization if the entire e-board graduates. We had to literally re-create the wheel.
I’m not talking about selling AA to a foreign investor, I’m talking straight up communism.
Should we nationalize the airlines? Now you’ve probably heard all the news on CNN or in the New York Times about how airlines are losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The only reason they’re staying afloat is because of the fact that the U.S. government, using your tax dollars is making sure these companies don’t go bankrupt.
Meanwhile the CEO makes $6,500,000.00 in a failing business. Now talk about overpaid and under performing. A-rod, you’re off the hook. When your company is losing $328,000,000.00 do you really think you deserve making six figures?
You’re probably thinking, lets nationalize already! This is such a joke. However, think about that…. (more…)
I read an article on yahoo the other day which really got my blood boiling. Check this out:
Its a sad day when any person succumbs to a rare fatal form of heart cancer early on in life. This can be said for Thomas who was diagnosed in 2001.
Hardworking and supportive of his family, he was determined to ensure that his family would receive the insurance benefits to be paid to them when his passing time came. He spent his final days working hard to make his family’s life slightly more bearable.
Its a terrible coincidence that the day Thomas ceased employment due to his illness, the company to which he was a loyal employee changed insurance companies to one that requires the employees to work one full day to be entitled to their benefits…
… Like the $426,000.00 that Thomas’ wife should have collected, that Thomas tried to salvage for his family before he died. Looks like all that hard work spent in Thomas’ last moments to save his family’s financial situation went down the drain.
Thomas’ wife stated that she cannot afford her husband’s funeral.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act is something the American public should rejoice over. However, its this very same act that protects employers from lawsuits.
Its also the same act that resulted in Thomas wife’s not collecting the insurance on her husband. What’s a family to do?
Politicians everywhere have stated that “the act has left more people vulnerable than it has helped.” What’s a family to do?
Finally, the supreme court refused to review the case after the company Thomas worked for succeeded in getting the case thrown out. What’s a family to do?
In the last two parts to this post, I’m going to divvy the sides and examine the health care ideals and opinions of this act as stated by Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. I hope this family can receive some sort of help… before filing under a new tax bracket.
After reviewing my college tutiton bill, and the subsequent ten minutes of crying, I decided to check out where the candidates stood on the issue of higher education.
…Unfortunately John McCain doesn’t speak about college education on his website, just about education as a whole and his ingenious “give parents and children choices” idea, which frankly in my eyes is just a really eloquent way of saying, “I’m not going to do a damn thing about it except maybe allow children to pick which public school they attend”. So instead I’ll just rave about the man who actually DOES talk about the skyrocketting college costs: Barack Obama.
From BarackObama.com:
Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year’s tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due.
Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.
Clearly it isnt a fix to the problem. It isnt free tuition for everyone. However, it is SOMETHING. Now poor families can afford to send their children to college. Everyone will have just a little bit more help paying for their college education. And am I the only person who read that second bullet point and actually laughed in joy? No more FAFSA forms? No more sitting at home crying and shuffling through tax forms trying to get whatever help we can to pay for the enormous cost of college education? Excuse me for one moment but, THANK YOU BARACK OBAMA!!!!
Thomas Jefferson once said that a healthy and educated society is every government’s worst fear. He believed this to be true because a healthy and educated society refuses to put up with the nonsense that is handed to them by their government. Perhaps Mr. Obama is shooting himself in the foot by making Health Care and Education affordable…or maybe he just trusts the American people. Shocking, isn’t it?
Lately in the news we’ve been seeing a series of attacks on Michelle Obama. The pundits(Fox News) and the GOP claim that she is fair game because she made a comment that she was “finally proud to be an American”. It’s astounding that people would go hysterical over a comment like that from someone who is black and who is a woman from a major city, raising two children in the USA. But regardless, if we are going to be petty children over what ‘he said she said’ allow me to say a few words about Cindy McCain.
Cindy McCain was born to an incredibly wealthy family, her father founded Hensley and Co. a large scale distributor for Anheuser-Busch of which she is now the chair. She lived the typical life anyone would expect, eventually marrying John McCain (then in the Navy). In 1989 Cindy developed a drug addiction. She became addicted to several perscription painkillers such as Valium and Perocet. Cindy took the drugs because of a recent surgery, and to ease the pain from the Keating Five Scandal. Her addiction got so bad that she actually resorted to theft. But here’s the punchline. Cindy McCain stole those perscription drugs from a charity organization that was meant to benefit the sick and dying in third world nations, THAT SHE FOUNDED! Thankfully, Cindy did recover from her addiction, but she has stayed two steps behind John ever since.
I do not write this as an attack on Cindy McCain. I do not write this as an attack on John McCain. Rather I write this because it is appauling to me how Michelle Obama gets treated after one sentence and a “terrorist fist jab” and yet Cindy McCain is allowed to steal medicine from starving children and it never gets mentioned once. I highly doubt that Fox News would ever run this story in a fair way, and I’m sure Sean Hannity would find some diabolical way to make stealing drugs totally acceptable. But maybe someday this story will be picked up and people can see that maybe a young black woman finally seeing progress for blacks and women in this nation after 200 years isn’t as bad a rich white woman who stole drugs from children of third world nations to get her fix.
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