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Please Don't Drill Baby, Drill

It is approximated that only six percent of the world's crude oil lies in the United States- and about a fourth of the world's crude oil can be found in Saudi Arabia. However, America is the top consumer of oil in the world. Thus, even if America was able to harness all of the projected oil resting in its reservoirs, the oil found would not be anywhere near enough to make a true difference in oil cost for Americans, and it would be a huge expense and an even bigger step backwards for clean energy efforts in America.
President Obama has proposed, in his new energy plan, to begin drilling in and around several stretches of American coastline. "The likely return... [is about] two week's supply [of oil]," Keith Olbermann said on his show tonight. Obama's plan, which is seemingly a grab for some Congressional support from Republicans, will not provide any substantive energy to Americans.
Congressional Republicans don't seem interested in offering support, however. Some have begun to make statements against the plan, and other Republicans, outside of Congress, have done the same. Sarah Palin tweeted against the plan, and others have had similarly negative reactions. This proposal will decrease support from both liberals, who don't want to see any increase in drilling, and conservatives, who also oppose the plan for either not being sweeping enough or, quite simply, for being Obama's plan.
Several environmental leaders have spoken out against the proposal. Obama's plan would allow America to continue to rely on oil, rather than promoting new, 'green' energy methods. "We are seriously disappointed with the President," Eric Pica, of Friends of the Earth, said, although he noted that if this was attached to a green energy bill aiming to reduce climate change the proposal could be accepted by the community.
Still, any increase in drilling is negative. President Obama must remember that he was elected on a platform that focused on energy efficiency and that he was elected instead of a man whose vice presidential pick made a name for herself by calling out "drill baby, drill."
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A Matter of Life and Death

The House just passed the Senate's edited version of the reconsolidated health reform bill, marking the end of a year-old polarizing debate. However, it is imperative that this legislation is kept in perspective. Although congressmen and women vehemently fought each other over small pieces of the bill, Americans need to remember that health care is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. Reforms are nice. Regulations are nice. Caps and changes and extensions are all nice. But real health reform will not have been achieved until every American has affordable and comprehensive health care insurance. Neither the current law nor the recently passed reconciliation do this. And until this real health reform is achieved, less Americans will be able to receive imperative surgeries and treatments, less will be diagnosed with illnesses by qualified doctors, and more Americans will become ill.
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Quote 3/25/10

Anthony Weiner        
"Sooner or later they are going to live in a New York City where gay marriage is not only legal, but it's common and they don't even notice."
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GOP Leadership

Michael Steele, the contentious chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), is, in all technicality, the official leader of the Republican Party nationally. Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell are the highest ranking congressional Republicans, and Sen. John McCain is the party’s most recent presidential nominee. However, Republican leadership has been attributed to everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck to Mitt Romney.
The future of the GOP is an incredibly uncertain one, as current obstructionist tactics are unlikely to propel Republicans through either the 2010 midterms or the 2012 presidential, and the question of who will emerge as a Republican Party leader and candidate going into the 2012 election will be highly discussed. Potential candidates, including Romney, Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Tim Pawlenty, have all already been considered by the media as a new Republican leader, but none have really taken ownership of the party.
Romney, a more moderate conservative, would have a hard time achieving the GOP nomination if the tea party objects to his slightly more right-of-center beliefs, and the same goes for Pawlenty, although he appears to be becoming consistently more conservative. Palin, on the other hand, would have a contrasting problem. Her controversial actions and far-right beliefs would make her nearly impossible to market as a mainstream candidate, even to very conservative Republican voters.
Currently, no Republican in national office has complete leadership over the party. It is in Republican’s best interests to enter the 2012 elections united under one candidate. The inclusion of a tea party candidate or a struggle during nomination between traditional Republicans and the tea party will give massive advantage to the Democratic Party.
In order for Republicans to be united in 2012, a leader needs to emerge. Whether this leader is Palin, Romney, or even Beck doesn’t matter, as long as Republicans are in complete support of this leader. Otherwise, as Keith Olbermann said on his show Monday in a Special Comment, they will go from being “the party of no… to the party of no relevancy.”
 
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Post-Nothing


A year ago, the American media was quick to declare the budding Obama presidency a result of a new, post-racial America.  It sounded nice, as though the traditional biases held by average Americans had finally been dropped and America, now free of bigotry, would emerge victoriously as a completely accepting nation.
However, racial discrimination in America has not ended. Some of it, in fact, is aimed at the president who seemed to be above it all, like the often made- sometimes even by elected officials- claims that President Obama was not born in the United States, but rather, in Kenya.
“Barack Obama's presidency will not deal a death blow to racism. Racial inequality still affects the quality of the air we breathe, the quality of our health, the likelihood of being erroneously shot by police, the likelihood of being poor, of having little education and of being unemployed. Race is sticky and racism is real. Being black will still mean living poorer and dying younger,” wrote Mellissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, in a piece for The Nation in 2008. In the piece, Lacewell talks of the great strides made by the African-American community, both separate from and due to the election of Barack Obama. Still, Lacewell acknowledges that his presidency will not mean a post-racial America. Rather, it will lead to a more racially-empowering America.
Another epithet the media likes to attach to America when referring to the Obama presidency is ‘post-partisan’. But as the health care debate has shown, Washington is anything but. The American people and their representatives are now more polarized than ever, partisan politics suddenly becoming imperative to survival in Washington. The media may wish to, in the future, about declaring America done with any terrible action or unfortunate habit. 
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Reform?

It has been nearly four months since the Senate passed their health care reform bill. And yet, despite this seemingly lethargic pace, the House of Representatives voted late last night, 219-212, to pass the Senate's version of the bill. Although this bill is unlikely to be the final piece of health care legislation this year- the promised reconciliation appears imminent- certain assumptions can be made about what reform will actually take place after its signing.
The bill will, over time, extend protections to all Americans who are currently being discriminated against by the insurance companies. 90 days after the bill goes into law, insurance companies will be unable to deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions. Some others denied health care insurance will, soon after, be able to buy plans in a high-stakes insurance exchange.
Eventually, insurance companies will be forced to declare a justify proposed rate hikes before being allowed to enact them. Medicaid will be expanded to include more of the uninsured. Employers will be under more pressure to provide insurance to employees. Insurance companies will be more regulated, and less able to drop customers while being forced to provide minimum care.
However, the reform bill is not nearly as reaching as it could- and should- be. The bill does nothing to provide viable competition for insurance companies, completely ignoring the possibility of a public option, even a reactive one. Despite limitations on companies' ability to raise rates, no plan is given to lower them. The bill offers a mandate, forcing all Americans to buy heath care insurance- but forces them to buy a private plan. By not providing a public option, the US government is forcing Americans to buy a private product.
The bill could act as a stepping stone to more sweeping reforms. It is potential- although unlikely- that the reconsolidated bill will make great strides to cover those still not insured under the current plan. Still, regardless of flaws, the recently passed bill is a step in the right direction. 
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Infrastructure Spending

Voters love tax cuts; Republican lawmakers love cutting taxes. Small businesses and corporations alike love paying low, even nonexistent tariffs on their goods and products. Due to the conservative ideal's immense popularity, one may believe that tax cuts are the most effective way to stimulate the American economy.
The logic behind this thinking appears sound- if taxes paid by small business owners are cut, these business men and women will have more money to pour into their companies and, therefore, will be able to provide jobs for more Americans. Moreover, tax cuts, according to the idea's proponents, will give consumers more money to spend on goods and products that may have, in the past, been too expensive for the interested parties. The consumer spending, in turn, would stimulate the economy- or so pro-tax cut politicians say.
However, cutting taxes is not the best way to stimulate the economy, nor is it a particularly effective one. Tax cuts, while popular, will only make a small difference in a huge economy, and do not provide for a scenario in which the small business owners do not return the money saved to their companies.
In order to stimulate the economy, the US government must fund programs to provide jobs to American people, with a heavy focus on infrastructure spending. Infrastructure spending, or government funding of the building of roads, bridges, schools, etc, provides structure to America's crumbling infrastructure.
American buildings are falling apart. Destruction from natural disasters and simple age still ravage America's infrastructure, and the repair of roads and the like has become one of the most important issues today on a local level. America's buildings affect nearly every American every day, as they go to school, work, or home. The long term maintenance of failing infrastructure will result in incredibly high cost for the American taxpayer. If the problems are not immediately fixed, the financial consequences of quite literally rebuilding America will be great.
Additionally, infrastructure spending provides simple, viable jobs to US workers. In the current economy, with the shockingly high unemployment, workers are in desperate need of work that projects created by infrastructure spending will easily provide.
Often, the government will also hire small businesses to restructure the roads and buildings that must be repaired. Not only does that provide jobs, infrastructure spending funds small business, and, by extension, stimulates the economy on a national level.
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Friday Feature: Of Mice and Men



Today's most popular books are fantastical flights of imagination: Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson series, Lord of the Rings. In today's literary market, books that act as an investigative reflection of American problems are a rarity, and yet, it is books like these that achieve history-changing reforms in the US government and American society.
The Jungle, the Upton Sinclair novel based on Chicago's meat-packing industry, led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through it's repulsive descriptions of unsanitary factory practices. However, this was not the book's aim. Sinclair wrote the book in hopes of achieving better regulation of factory workers who labored in dangerous environments for inhumanely low wages.

Another book seeking better treatment of workers, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, follows the heartbreaking story of a mentally disabled worker, Lennie, who is subjected to an irrational witch hunt, no consideration taken for his unstable mental state. Lennie's eventual demise highlights the serious issues faced when the mentally disabled are ignored or shoved aside.
Of Mice and Men acted as an eyeopener for a self-absorbed America, increasing knowledge about the plight faced by mentally or physically disabled workers. Still, America must work to achieve consistant equality for the mentally disabled. Lennie's problems, and the way that they are ignored by the people around him, will hopefully continue to inspire American policymakers to impose more regulation upon businesses to protect disabled workers.
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The Reality Candidate

Scott Brown was a model; Al Franken was a comedian. Liberal blogger Mickey Kaus is planning to challenge three-term senator Barbara Boxer in California; noise has been made about a possible Glenn Beck run for office. Going all the way back to Ronald Reagan, our entertainers have been our politicians.
On one hand, entertainers who enter public office have unique abilities to connect with voters and are generally unprecedentedly skilled at pushing a message. People like Reagan are notorious for being popular with voters, and their show business backgrounds give them a certain celebrity that voters long for.
However, more and more instances of pre-made celebrity in candidates can have horrifying effects, in terms of policy.  Electing people who already have American fans outside of the political realm can turn elections into popularity contests and result in policy written by Paris Hilton-like media darlings.
Politicians who were originally elected for political reasons are not blind to the benefits of celebrity. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife have appeared on a slew of reality shows after he left office, poising him to potentially move past his former ethical indiscretions and run for political office again. Tom Delay, the one-time Republican leader, appeared for a short run on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, seriously broadening his national name-recognition, although, at the same time, turning him into a talking show farce.
Becoming a reality show celebrity can be a cheap way for struggling politicians to win votes. However, stunts like these can lose them political points, and, in the long run, flood the American government with under-qualified, yet popular, pseudo-celebrities.
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Educational Standards

It is in America's best interests, in the long term, to fund American schools and promote excellency in in education. Students in American schools today are American leaders of tomorrow, and it is imperative that they are ready to inherit tomorrow's world.
However, the current 'No Child Left Behind' system is not the way to ensure the achievement of American students. No Child Left Behind targets generally low income schools unable to make the standards and sends out ultimatums when these schools cannot achieve. I attended a No Child Left Behind-failing school for a number of years, a school where many students not in the magnet program spoke English as a second language. Although the school was filled with excellent teachers and was run by a truly amazing principal, the school had no chance in the increasingly ridiculous system.
Simply forcing low performing schools to achieve is not the way to ensure a good education for all American students. Unique and individualized standards must be set for each struggling school based on past performance and future trajectory. These standards must be adjustable, and the policy ought to be written by current and former educators and administrators, not politicians.
Additionally, new funding must be allotted for American schools. In a time where most school districts are struggling, education funding must be further increased.
School districts are having to close early, cut programs, and lower teachers' salaries in order to get through the recession. Having poorly funded schools is, in the short term, to the disadvantage of the students, who lose teachers, days, and classes, and, in the long term, to the disadvantage of America.
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Quote 3/17/10


Arne Duncan
“We've been able to do things - for example, close schools for academic failure. It is hugely difficult, it's hugely controversial and it's absolutely the right thing to do. That simply does not happen in other cities, because of a lack of political will.”
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The Power of a Narrative

He was an inspired young candidate ready to make history and finally seal America's cultural divides forever, and become the bright leader of a 'post-racial' America.  She was a feminist but an older figure, someone who had been on the political scene for longer; her candidacy did not have the same fresh feel as his, although she was doubtlessly more qualified. He won the primary.
The story of the 2008 Democratic primary- in fact, the story of the entire 2008 election- is one of ideology and political differences. However, the elections hinged more on the narratives brought forth by the various candidates. Senator John McCain attempted to make his narrative that of the patriotic war hero, willing to cross the aisle to do what was right for America, and to make Sarah Palin's tale that of a just-like-you working mom, facing the people's struggles as she raises a family in a modern America. Unfortunately for their campaign, McCain failed on both counts. Through his campaign-stopping antics and Palin's increasingly humiliating interviews, he managed to destroy his narrative in the eyes of the American people. 
However, President Obama was able to present a narrative in which he emerged as the calm, cool, and collected, yet the fist-poundingly passionate leader of today. His story of humble beginnings resonated with the American voters, and, in the end, his narrative won out. 
The midterm elections are now also a fight for narrative. If President Obama can once more achieve an image like he had during the 2008 campaign, he will be able to help ensure Democratic victory. However, if Republicans can refurbish their image to create a sympathetic narrative, the 2010 midterms will ravage the Democratic party.   
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Quote 3/15/10

Nicholas Kristof       
"Frankly, I find it very sad that this administration should seem so uninterested in Darfur, considering that three of the senators most active on Darfur in recent years were Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. "
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Quote 3/12/10

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Who Killed the Public Option?

It seems determined now, regardless of incessant complaints made by congressional Republicans and issues brought forth by liberal Democrats, that the Democratic caucus will attempt to pass both the original Senate bill in the House and a reconsolidated version in both the House and the Senate. Certain elements of health care reform are unable to be passed through reconciliation without sixty votes, for instance, the bill's language on abortions and the public option, as these are not directly related to the budget. Having a viable government-based competition and choice for consumers could have been the best received government program in years. A comprehensive public option would have provided insurance to most, if not all, uninsured Americans.
Who killed the public option? Who is to blame for the future and current absence of competition and protection? Ultimately, the blame lies with for specific groups: congressional Democrats, congressional Republicans, the Obama Administration, and the American media. These factions of American politics are in no way solely blamable for the loss of a useful and imperative government program, yet all contributed to its demise.
Congressional Democrats did not set their legislative aims high enough, were unable to control their caucus, and did not make an attempt to dominate the national debate. Additionally, at town halls Democrats did not respond to their constituants concerns in a manner that clearly explained the facts of the debate. All too willing to make fruitless compromises, Democrats consolidated their original ideals to please a few conservative members of their party and far too many disinterested Republicans.
Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, encouraged obstructionism and propagated misinformation, often through right-wing radical groups. Seemingly unwilling to compromise, few Republicans even engaged with Democrats during the critical stage of the bill being drafted, and none were willing to vote for it.
The Obama Administration, like the Democrats, were weak with their message and unsure of policy aims. By initially staying out of the debate, Obama appeared to have allowed Democrats to consolidate the bill to its current form.
Finally, the media assisted various groups by not checking facts, allowing the propagating of misinformation, and using loaded terms like 'socialism', 'Communism', and 'government takeover'. The media's purpose of unbiased reporting and the perennial fact-checker was not fulfilled, and reporters' public fact-mangling only led to further debate.
These groups are not alone. Others had heavy hands in the death of the public option, like the 'Tea Party', but it is these elected officials and trusted informants who are the most responsible.
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Quote 3/11/10

Christopher Dodd
"I don't care what the public wants, I'm going to give it what it needs!"
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Quote 3/10/10

Christopher Hayes 
"[S]anity has, tentatively, provisionally prevailed."
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Deployment's Effects On Families

By Senior Correspondent Devon Maloney    
After the massive snow storms in February, the Fraley family could be found with several other families shoveling themselves out of their homes. The recent deployment of their father, David Fraley, the family has been getting support from other families in their neighborhood.
The Fraley’s street is now lined with yellow ‘Support the Troops’ ribbons on trees, mailboxes, and basketball hoops. Organized by a group of neighborhood women the night before David Fraley’s deployment, they arranged for him to see the ribbons as his family drove him to the airport on January 20th.
David Fraley will be gone for a yearlong tour in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. “We get to see him in his two week leave time this summer,” David’s daughter Alexandra Fraley, a Langley High School freshman, said. “He is give one two-week vacation time. In August we’re going to spend it with him in Europe; we’re going to try to visit a lot of the countries out there.”
Alex also has a younger brother and sister, David and Jacqueline. While the possibility of deployment for their dad was still being verified, Alex and her parents told her younger siblings when they received formal notice. “I personally think that my brother and sister are living in the moment almost as if that they haven’t actually realized it yet.” Once they were told, “they acted as if it wasn’t going to happen,” Alex said.
A little after David left, Alex said: “At the moment we are just in shock almost, but we are cooping. We are trying to keep up with all of the things we did before [my dad] left: sports, schoolwork…everything.” 
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Friday Feature: Lost and Leadership

4 8 12 15 16 28 42 
These numbers are like an ID tag for Lost fans, a string of seemingly random digits that has brought them together- not unlike the connections expirienced by their favorite charectors. Lost, a complex story of fate, belief, humanity, and leadership, tells the tales of survivors of an Oceanic flight crash on a mystereous island with a hidden history. Early in the show, leaders are idenified by the survivors. Jack Shepard is the fast leader after the crash, a doctor with a strong personality.In the beginning, Jack is portrayed as infallible, but it is quickly obvious that Jack is as flawed as anyone else, and possibly more so. In fact, all the leaders of Lost have massive, even fatal flaws. John Locke, onetime leader of the Others, is led to believe in a higher purpose for himself, and his resulting quest for self-discovery ultimately leads to his untimely death. Ben Linus, another powerful Other, spent a lifetime taking often immoral actions in order to secure a future for his people. None of these men are perfect- far from it. And yet, they all are the most respected and powerful humans on the island. 


In America, we like to see our leaders as indestructible, perfect. Even more so, we like to view our country and its actions as infallible. This is why we turn a blind eye to atrocities we commit, why we refuse to admit to times when our federal offices or our military act against American or international law, and why we attempt to ignore mistakes made by leaders we respect. It is important that we see gaps in our nation's and our leader's ethics if we wish to mitigate our errors and grow beyond them. While we tend to note egregious mistakes made by our leadership, we often brush over ethical ambiguities.   


"If we can't live together, we're going to die alone." This is the ultimatum given by Jack during the first season of Lost. Jack is able to lead and to embolden the people he has in his charge, regardless of his flaws. This is the other lesson from Lost- we cannot expect our leaders to be perfect, and we cannot limit their existence to perfection, rather, we must accept moral leadership when it comes to us.  
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House Committee Calls Murder of Armenians 'Genocide'


The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution Thursday, effectively accusing the Turks of the genocide of approximately 1.5 million Armenians during and after World War One. Turkey has consistently denied the existence of the genocide, and this declaration may be damaging to both American-Turkish relations and Armenian-Turkish relations.  It is unknown if the entire House will have an opportunity to vote on the resolution. Although both Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama had referred, in the past, to the actions of Turkey as genocide, the Obama administration made a late request for the resolution not to be voted on, presumably because of fear of Turkish reaction. Representatives voting on the measure noted being caught between foreign policy concerns and ethical concerns over allowing Turkey’s actions to go unnoticed. 

As someone with Armenian heritage, I have several family members who feel very strongly about the atrocities committed against Armenians around the time of World War One. In fact, fear of this mass murder was the very reason my family originally left Armenia for the United States. However, it is important to take into account the foreign policy ramifications of this decision by Congress. It is imperative that America retains a beneficial relationship with Turkey and that America promotes good relations between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey is a vital US ally in the Middle East, a part of the world where the United States can use every supporter it can get. Turkey and America also share economic ties, and American companies do federal contracting work for the Turkish government. It is possible that the vote Thursday could negatively impact these business agreements.
In the long run, I believe it more important to act ethically and condemn acts of genocide than to act in fear of risking foreign policy relationships. For too long, the American government ignored the Armenian genocide, and its treatment by America mirrors the treatment of modern genocides. The genocides in Darfur and Rwanda are and were dismissed by the American government, similarly to the ignoring of the Armenian genocide. It is extraordinarily important that Congress is willing and able to act to protect human rights around the world when lives of innocent civilians are threatened in a widespread fashion. As Americans, if we are going to say we stand for the ideals of liberty, of justice, of democracy, and of equality, we must act upon our beliefs; otherwise, they mean nothing. 
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Quote 3/4/10

Harry Reid 
"You don't need a lot of consultation if the person you're consulting with listens to you"
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Deployment In Schools

By senior correspondent Devon Maloney      
A select group of students have signed up for the opportunity to serve in the nation’s armed forces. President Barack Obama recently announced his plan to deploy 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan. For thousands of American families, including some that are part of the Marshall community, this means a loved one will be sent to war.

While some students are involved in the military through their parents deployment or jobs, other students have chosen a career in the armed forces themselves. Senior Joe G. is going to college on an Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship for the Air Force.


ROTC offers students who plan on joining the military a chance to get a higher education. The branch of the military they plan to join will pay for education with an agreement that the student will serve a set number of years.


“I’m planning to do a year or two of college on ROTC and then apply to the Air Force Academy,” Joe said. Joe hopes to become a test pilot for the Air Force as soon as his tour of duty is finished. “I will get to play with all sorts of new toys, which I think is a pretty cool job,” he said.


To prepare for the military, Joe is currently enrolled in an Air Force Junior ROTC academy class offered at Chantilly High School. Seniors Jackson L and Jun K are also enrolled in the course. According to the official web site, the goal of the Junior ROTC is to provide “a quality citizenship, character, and leadership development program, while fostering partnerships with communities and educational institutions,” preparing students for ROTC.


“Serving in the armed service is the best way to serve your country,” Joe said. “I can’t [imagine] not going into the military.”  Taking a lesson from his father, who is on active duty with the Air Force, Joe said that he “just loves America and will serve it to the best of his abilities.”


Even for those who are not going to go into the military, all eighteen-year-old males are presented with the possibility of being called to serve. Senior CJ B has signed up for the Selective Service. In other words, he is eligible to serve if there is another draft.


“I’m happy to do my part to keep the country safe,” CJ said. “It’s my patriotic duty to sign up for the draft.”
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How to Win in 2012



Democrats have had a hard year. It's probable that Democrats will have a hard midterm election and a tough 2012 presidential race. Already, at this year's CPAC, Republican challengers have begun to emerge. In the CPAC straw poll, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Tim Pawlenty all got sizable portions of the vote. Even though the CPAC vote was split, if the Republican Party is able to put up a unified front behind a strong candidate in 2012, the Democratic Party will have a very difficult time winning the election, even with an incumbent.
So the key to Democratic victory becomes isolating the Republican Party into two lesser groups: the 'traditional' fiscal Republicans who are likely to support someone like Romney, and the more polarized, 'tea party' Republicans. However, splitting Republican votes in the primary will only go so far- the Republicans are very skilled at party unification. The DNC must work to split conservative votes in the general, with the introduction of a third party candidate.
Similarly to this year's election in the 23rd district of New York, in order to ensure Democratic victory, the 'tea party', or a similar third party radical conservative group, needs to nominate their own candidate in the general election. New York's 23rd district is a case study in when this works for Democrats. A district which had been a Republican stronghold for years quickly flipped Democrat when the tea party candidate was a challenger in the general. If the same effect is replicated in 2012, the Democrats will easily win the presidency.
The DNC needs to take steps to ensure the nomination of a third party candidate. Some portion of Democratic campaign funds ought to be passed directly onto the tea party. It is imperative that the second challenger is a strong one, able to garner enough votes to significantly impact the Republican candidate.
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Quote 3/3/10


Al Gore
"Our world faces a true planetary emergency. I know the phrase sounds shrill,
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Jim Bunning's America

Senator Jim Bunning, the same man who predicted the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and who called his general election opponent a "son of Suddam Hussein," has been filibustering the re-approval of the unemployment benefits bill, and single-handedly blocking its passage. If the bill is not passed by its re-approval deadline, thousands of unemployed Americans will lose their benefits, and there will but cuts to Medicare, another instrumental part of the bill. Bunning has stated his goal in filibustering as to stop unemployment benefits, as he feels that those who don’t have jobs should not be provided with those basic funds to live on, even in the current economy, where the January unemployment rate was 10.6 percent.

Senator Bunning has, recently, lifted his filibuster, and the Senate was able to pass the legislation. It is not just Bunning's actions that are at fault here, however, it is the basic philosophy that the government shouldn't have to help people in need.
This opinion is not unique to Senator Bunning. Senator John Kyl, who doesn’t have Bunning’s history of odd behavior and is not a radical conservative, has also expressed disapproval of the unemployment benefits bill, making comments that effectively expressed the belief that those who don’t have a job shouldn’t be rewarded for it.
Unemployment benefits are a basic service that Americans rightly expect from their government. Jobless Americans rely on these benefits to assist them though their daily life as they search for work. If the US Congress is unable to act to help Americans in need, it is not fulfilling its most basic purpose and is, therefore, a useless body.
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