Obamas peace prize

I think this is a truly unique circumstance, warranted? not really. Publicity stunt? Most likely. I have nothing against Obama at this point in time, it is just odd to me that he got a Noble peace prize, seemingly just for not being Bush. Never before has anyone been given such a prestigious award for what they say they are going to do. Now that he has his bling i hope he can back it up. All i know is i would not want to be in his position as if cleaning up after bush wasn't bad enough now he has to live up to something, gods speed Obama.

Church and State

Radical North Carolina Conservatives are threatening to take their city to court if Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell in sworn into office. Bothwell, who believes in ending the death penalty, conserving water and reforming government happens to not believe in god "The question of whether or not God exists is not particularly interesting to me and it's certainly not relevant to public office," the recently elected 59-year-old said.You would think that since this is the 21st century that this would not be an issue when running for office, but it is just the opposite, North Carolina conservatives are outraged. The unfortunate thing for Bowell is that the constitution is backing these "jesus freaks". Bothwell's detractors cite a little-noticed quirk in North Carolina's Constitution that disqualifies officeholders "who shall deny the being of Almighty God." The provision was included when the document was drafted in 1868 and wasn't revised when North Carolina amended its constitution in 1971. One foe, H.K. Edgerton, is threatening to file a lawsuit in state court against the city to challenge Bothwell's appointment. In this nation with all the freedom and so called equality floating around, i believe politicians should not be judged by thier believes but by their ability to do their job and serve the people.

Response: Should we be taxed on sugary beverages?

I'm going to have to disagree with you, if they can tax cigarettes and alcohol, they should be able to tax soda and other foods that are potentially harmful to your health. I acknowledge that cigarettes and alcohol are much more damaging to health but a much larger population drinks sodas as opposed to smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol. Today Soda is filled with artificial chemicals and sweeteners and if you are drinking 6 or 7 soda's a day the damage is very real, not to mention its influences on childhood obesity. So it is my opinion that if the government is going to restricted any potentially harmful product such as cigarettes or alcohol they have the right to do it to soda as well.

Source of original argument: The New York Times, Proposed Tax on Sugary Beverages Debated

Single Vote from GOP on healthcare reform

There was only one vote from the republican side of the table on Obamas Democratic Health care bill that passed through the house late Saturday. Who was the standout Republican? It was Anh "Joseph" Cao who’s vote came after Obama personally called him to ask for his support. Cao agreed to vote on the bill if an amendment passed that would remove some public insurance on abortion. The amendment did pass and Cao kept his word to the president. Cao also explained that he put the needs of his district first in voting for the bill and that it was worth any criticism that would come his way. Republican National Committee Michael Steele was quoted in saying “candidates who live in moderate to slightly liberal districts have got to walk a little bit carefully here, because you do not want to put yourself in a position where you're crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we'll come after you.” Cao has stood strong next to his decision and responded to Steele “He has the right to come after those members who do not conform to party lines, but I would hope that he would work with us in order to adjust to the needs of the district and to hold a seat that the Republican Party would need.” Cao is a fine example to American politics and shows that you cannot always completely follow your parties guide lines and must be willing to go outside of political boundaries in order to do the right thing.

Chenye bashes Obama on Afghanistan

Ex-vice president Cheneye has been quoted in saying Obama is afraid of Afghanistan. "In a hard-hitting, wide-ranging speech Wednesday for a conservative gathering, Cheney targeted the administration's decision-making process on how to proceed in Afghanistan, saying Obama has failed to give troops on the ground a clear mission or defined goals and appeared "afraid to make a decision."(http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/22/cheney.obama/index.html) I do not agree with Cheneye in any way, as you may or may not know cheneye has his hands in the pockets of halliburton, a global construction and contracting company that are notorius for going in and rebuilding nations that we have waged war in, such as Iraq or Afghanistan I believe that continued aggressive operations in Iraq are in Cheney's favor. As for Obama who road in on the platform of pulling the troops out of Iraq, in his latest address towards the issue he proposed a 23 month plan for removing the troops from Iraq which is far from his his promised immediate withdrawal from the theater. I do realize that Iraq and Afghanistan must be stabilized before we leave but 2 years seems just a bit long. In truth I am criticizing both parties, Cheney for being an imperialist who helped plunge the United states into two conflicts we didn't need, and Obama for not taking initiative and getting us out of Iraq as soon as promised.

New President, same storey, better acting.

Tehran has begun renewing its nuclear research program and insists it is developing the program for energy purposes, but many nations think Iran wants to make nuclear weapons and will be able to do so in the near future.The existence of the second uranium enrichment facility prompted President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France to publicly chide the Islamic republic and threaten further sanctions last week at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Is it just me or have when been here before? When do we get to hear the speech about how they have "weapons of mass destruction" and declare war on them and liberate some oil fields. Only time will tell if Iran chooses to conform to what is being asked of them by the U.N. Ex-President Carter hopes Iran will allow international inspectors in as he respects "Iran's right to purify uranium and plutonium to use for nuclear power". I think it is wrong to push Iran around just because they are not 100% for what America and the U.N. are doing. If you just saw two of your neighboring countryside be invaded and occupied by America i think you would be a little shaken. Wether Iran is producing nuclear weapons or not i think it has the right to presue its defense. After all if it were to develop nuclear weapons i think they would be more of a deterant than an actual threat.

Internaional Climate meeting

According to The New York times, in about 3 months 120 countries will meet to talk about the increasing problem of climate change. However the negotiations for a new climate change agreement that are to be signed in Copenhagen this December are badly delayed. While virtually all of the largest developed nations have made domestic commitments toward creating more efficient, renewable sources of energy to cut emissions, none want to take the lead in fighting for significant international emissions reduction targets, lest they be accused at home of selling out future jobs and economic growth. At this time the fight against climate change and over emission is without a leader.