Response to Joe Biden: The Senate's Duty on a Supreme Court Nominee

Response to Joe Biden: The Senate's Duty on a Supreme Court Nominee 
3/7/16

In Biden's speech in the summer of 1992, he discouraged President Bush to nominate a Supreme Court judge and if the President did, he threatened him by telling the Senate not to cast a vote. Now in 2016 as the Senate refuses to consider Obama's Supreme Court nominations, Biden urges that the Senate use their full power and hold a hearing for Obama's nominations.

The question is, What side is Biden taking, does he agree with the Senate having a hearing or not ? In the article,"The Senate’s Duty on a Supreme Court Nominee", Vice President Joe Biden takes his stance on the Senate refusing to have a hearing, by saying , "The Senate will need to fulfill its constitutional responsibility by considering, debating and voting on that nominee."

Joe Biden has spent 36 years in the Senate, so he's been there and done that nine times. Biden vows for a more consultative process, where the Senate plays a more advisory role, talking to the President about who he should nominate. He also wants there to be a candidate chosen who everyone generally agrees with to settle the void between the partisan (Democrat and Republican divide) in the country.

Not only does Biden want the President and Congress to get along, but he wants Congress to get it together in general. He later goes on to say, "At a time when we need to reduce the gridlock in our politics, this would extend Congress’s dysfunction to the Supreme Court — preventing it from functioning as our founders intended for a year and possibly longer." He believes that if Congress doesn't get it together and hear Obama out, the Supreme Court nomination could take up to a year.

Even after this whole Supreme Court nomination is over, Congress should look at this as motivation to reassess theirselves. The whole Republican- Democrat thing is getting out of hand. Why deny a nominee a right to be on the Supreme Court if he/she is a good person? Congress needs to start looking beyond politics and think, "Will this person or thing improve or help the people of America? " If Congress starts to look at the bigger picture, things will start to get done.

Donald Trump for President ?!

Donald Trump for President?! 

2/16/16

Donald Trump. Most of the time he is getting bashed for his outrageous statements, but he is leading the presidential election. Why? Americans are angry and Trump is portraying hisself as a "strong man", a man who will get things done. Vanessa Barford outlines the sources of America's anger in her article "Why are Americans so Angry?" . 

69% of Americans believe that the government only satisfies the needs of the insiders, or the people with the money. The government is veering away from the principles that it was built on: to protect it's citizens natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You would think that after  almost 200 years the government would have got it right. 

The economy has been stagnant for almost fifteen years, nothing is getting done in Washington, and the nation is divided. 

In particular, young people are angry. The 18-25 age group is always ridiculed for never voting, but when 18-25 year olds go to vote, none of the candidates beliefs resonate with theirs. "Democrats and Republicans have become more ideologically polarised than ever. The typical (median), Republican is now more conservative in his or her core social, economic and political views than 94% of Democrats, compared with 70% in 1994, according to Pew Research. The median Democrat, meanwhile, is more liberal than 92% of Republicans, up from 64%." With such polarization in the government, there is no middle ground for 18-25 year olds to connect to, leading to this age group not voting. This leads to more anger because if less than half of 18-25 year olds are voting, then the majority of 18-25 year olds are not being represented in the government. 

This anger cannot be placed solely on the government. America is based off of popular sovereignty, or the power people, but if the people aren't taking advantage of this right, or doing nothing, what power do they have ? With only 5% of America being rich, Trump is winning because he is connecting with the people, and acknowledging their anger. 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35406324

Politics- the most important, but confusing thing ever!

Politics- the most important, but confusing thing ever!
Commentary on Richard Rahn by Shaniyla Johnson

2/12/16

According to the US Census Bureau, voters between the ages of 18-24 have always held the lowest voting rates. In the 2012 elections, only 38% of voters aged 18-24 voted. This age group votes the least because they don't fully understand the presidential election, or better yet politics as a whole.

As a high school senior who will be eligible to vote in the upcoming election, I can say that I don't understand politics.  On television, I mostly see presidential candidates split into democrats and republicans.    Then, when I look online to take a closer look into each candidate they are categorized as liberals, progressives, and much more. It becomes even more confusing when I find out that even though both candidates are liberals, they have conflicting views on certain topics. I agree with Richard Rahn's statement that terms like liberal and progressive allow people to understand why politicians opinions differ, but it can be very confusing when people in these categories have conflicting views. Just when you think you understand, it gets more confusing. If high school students are required to learn about the presidential election and political ideologies, more people from the 18-24 age group will vote.

Flint, Michigan getting a Hail Mary pass from Camden football team


2/2/16


Camden's Whitman Park youth football team will drive 100,000 bottles of water to Flint, Michigan on March 3. After Flint changed their water supply to the Flint River in October 2014, the water was diagnosed with lead contamination. Although Flint switched their water supply back to Detroit in October 2015, the water is still being deemed contaminated. Due to Flint's limited water supply, the Whitman Park football team will collect water from Feb. 1 to Feb. 29 and drive the donations to Flint, Michigan on March 3. 

Living in Camden, this article interests me. This is a great deed, but the only way this water collection will be successful is if it is advertised well. If I never had to cover this current event for class, I wouldn't even know that this water collection was taking place. There is a flyer on the team's website, but the flyer should be posted all around Camden and its surrounding towns. 

The Whitman Park football team has made a goal to collect 100,000 bottles of water or 4,200 packs. So far, 762 bottles have been collected. If bottles of water are collected at this same rate throughout February, only about 12,000 bottles will be collected. But if this event is effectively advertised throughout Camden, the Whitman Park football team will collect 100,000 bottles easily. According to the US Census Bureau, Camden has a population of about 77,000 people. If everyone in Camden donated two bottles of water, the Whitman Park team will achieve and exceed their goal. With effective advertising and community involvement, Camden's Whitman Park football team's water collection for Flint, Michigan's water crisis will be a success. 


http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2016/02/camden_youth_football_wants_100k_water_bottles_for.html


http://time.com/4191864/flint-water-crisis-lead-contaminated-michigan/

http://www.whitmanparktigers.com

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/3410000.html