Service Project for Government Class

 So, last Monday, some of my family and I went out to pick up trash along 34th street. We went a few blocks and picked up a couple bags of trash. It may have been small, but you never know what'll happen because of it. We were directly visible by the street for much of the time, and as it is a busy road, it is unknown how many people saw us picking up trash that day. Therefore, my project not only helped to clean up a piece of my community, of which our Earth needs much of, but also planted the seeds of ideas in other people who saw us, and may do something to help our community too some day. The power of suggestion is strong, and I have faith that something good will come out of my action, even if I never see it.
-Sofia

Here's some inspiration videos of chain reactions of kindness I found:

President Barack Obama’s Tour

President Barack Obama leaves for India on a ten-day tour ending in South Korea, costing around $200 million dollars a day. Obama is bringing approximately 3,000 people with him. A total of 40 jetliners will take Obama, his family, friends and staff. They’ve rented the entire Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, all 570 rooms. Obama is also brining all his teleprompters.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Obama is going for a need of defense contracts for billions of dollars, which will play well in the United States. With all this money being spent, I still think he’s going for the right reason. Obama is trying to help our country in war and trying to make our country a safer place to live. He is trying to get military supplies and equipment for our American Soldiers, so it will help them in succeeding in the war. President Obama is going with a serious approach and is trying to better the country. I think most people are looking at this as an unnecessary trip because of the exuberant cost, rather than the main cause. Everyone should look at the big picture. Like Barack Obama said himself, “Americans, still believe in an America where anything's possible - they just don't think their leaders do.”

-Justin

Hindu’s Upset over Newsweek’s Picture of Obama as Shiva

Last week the Newsweek magazine published a picture of Obama as the Hindu god Shiva, carrying a pile of policies and standing on one leg. The article that went with the picture was about “Why the Modern Presidency May be too Much for One Person to Handle.” The president of the Universal Society of Hinduism in Nevada, Rajan Zed, and many other important US Indian-American organizations were upset over the picture.

To comment on Newsweek’s article and picture, I think that it was very stupid of Newsweek to publish a picture of Obama as Shiva. They should have anticipated that they would get a lot of comments from critics, upset over them using the Indian god Shiva as a depiction of Obama. There will always be controversy if magazines, such as Newsweek, associate religion and politics. That is why magazines should not try to use such images for their article.

-Gabby

Politics: Where Everything Gets Blown Out of Proportions

In politics, seemingly little things can get a lot of publicity. Much like celebrities in movies, television shows, or famous musicians, everything that someone, a president or anyone of importance, does is monitored, analyzed, put forth for the average citizen to judge. And judge we do, whether our conclusions come from biased or unbiased sources.

For instance, in 1979, President Jimmy Carter went fishing and a rabbit swam up to his boat. Not wanting the rabbit to get to him, he splashed the rabbit with his paddle, causing the rabbit to swim away and get out of the pond. That innocent encounter turned into a legend of President Carter being attacked by a killer rabbit. And this was all because a reporter heard this story and found it worthy enough for embellishment and attention.

But the point is, there was never a “killer” rabbit, and attacking would be an exaggeration of what really happened. And this happens a lot, things being blown out of proportions for the public to see. But do people realize that? If we all realize what is happening, why can’t we make it stop and get the truth? It makes one think, what is different from what we think we know?

-Sofia

Obama Re-Election

It may come as a big surprise to many based on the recent elections in the House of Representatives and the large unemployment rate, but President Barack Obama is likely to win the 2012 presidential election. According to Ray Fair, an economist at Yale University, if the American economy continues to improve through 2012, President Obama will win by a landslide. Mr. Fair has created a model that shows the effects that the economy can have on a Presidential election. It has been his experience that if the economy is improving in the election year, the President will often get re-elected.

I agree with Mr. Fair that the economy plays a major role in the election of a President. I think that most will want to re-elect a President if they see that he is doing something right economically. I also think that it is a little too early to judge how well the economy is doing. The country still has almost a ten percent unemployment rate and I don’t think that number will just change overnight. If Obama is to be re-elected, I think that he will have to find some more Americans jobs.

-Max

TSA’s Full Body Scanners Causing an Uproar

Going through security at airports may be an even bigger hassle this Thanksgiving. A Virginian man, Brian Sodergren, started a website called optout.com. It has gained many followers and sparked an uprising of other groups that are to boycott full body scans at airports on one of the busiest days for travel, the day before Thanksgiving.

CNN stated that the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and president Obama agree with the boycotters in that it is an invasion of privacy. Wewontfly.com is another website group that encourages people to “fly with dignity” and gives a list of ways people can “raise hell”. A claim stated on the website is that the radiation doses are too high and can cause damage to the eyes, but Richard Morin, a radiologist specialist insists that the radiation levels are too insignificant to do any harm.

TSA has stated that though they empathize with the public’s discomfort, it is necessary that people are thoroughly checked for weaponry or explosives. TSA does not plan to change their current policies and continues to reassure the public that the screenings are for the safety of passengers.

-Kacy

Abortion

 There are approximately 3,700 abortions daily in the United States. With this being said, many people have diverse views on this subject. Like Barack Obama, I'm pro-choice, meaning I think women should have their own right to have an abortion or not. You never know what the circumstances were, and how they got pregnant. For instance, a woman could have been sexually assaulted and got pregnant. It's a highly viewed topic in politics and is extremely important.

The fetus may be alive, but so are eggs and sperm. The fetus is a potential human being, not an actual one. It's my belief like many others, that in the early stages of pregnancy the fetus is not a viable living thing, but it is rather a group of tissues. We celebrate birthdays because it's the day of a child's birth, however, we don't celebrate the day of conception. I strongly believe that you are not terminating the life of a human being when you have an abortion during the early stages of pregnancy.

Additionally, it's extraordinarily important that every woman has the right to choose. It would be unfair to restrict a woman's choice by prohibiting abortion. In my opinion, I believe it's every woman's fundamental right to make a decision regarding her body. Reproductive freedom is a basic right for all women in our society. 

-Justin