US Migration Talks With Cuba

Unit 5

     U.S. and Cuban representatives are scheduled to meet in Havana to have migration talks. The meetings are supposed to help with the tension that was felt in the 1960's between Cuba and the United States.  In the meetings, the two countries' diplomats discuss areas of interest and the implementation of an accord that gives Cuba 20,000 visas to the United States annually.  These talks were suspended in 2011 after a US subcontractor was accused of acting against Cuba's national sovereignty.  The talks have resumed.  One issue that may come up in this meeting is Cuba's recent banking woes.

     I think that these talks are a great thing.  I think that whenever we are trying to improve our relationship with other countries that it should be done like this.  We shouldn't have to fight over our disagreements.  It's a great thing that we are working things out.  I don't like how a US subcontractor disturbed these meetings for acting against Cuba's national sovereignty.  He should have represented the US better.  He was just being selfish and caused some major problems.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/09/us-cuba-to-hold-migration-talks-in-havana/?intcmp=latestnews

"Jihad Jane" sentenced to prison

Unit 7
     A Pennsylvania woman was sentenced to ten years in prison yesterday.  She was convicted for the planning of the murder of a Swiss artist.  She was connected with a terrorist group who ordered her to murder the artist.  Colleen Larose, who called herself jihad jane, would have served a life term if it wasn't for a Chief US District Judge giving her credit for her guilty plea and the conviction of two others.  Prosecutors wanted a longer term of prison because they thought the woman could still be manipulated.  Larose had a very hard childhood where she suffered the effects of rape, hunger, and alcoholism.  Her future marriages were effected by abuse and she began to use crystal meth.  She got involved with the terrorist group when she was in Amsterdam.  The terrorist group was offended by the artist's works that depicted the prophet Mohammed as a dog.  Larose could serve as little as 4 more years in prison due to her 4 years she has already been in prison and her good behavior.
     I think that this is a just punishment for this woman.  We can't tolerate involvement in terrorist groups and plans for murder, but she had not acted on these plans.  I think that this also changes the face of terrorism.  Larose was not the typical terrorist when it comes to appearance.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/06/jihad-jane-sentencing-hearing-underway/

Racial Profiling Costs in Arizona

Unit 5
     An Arizona county's racial profiling will cost the county at least $22 million.  The cost is specifically for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's tough "cracking down on immigration laws."  A court ruled that it wasn't immigration law enforcement but was racial and ethnic profiling and deserved a penalty.  The sheriff's office was apparently targeting a lot of vehicles with drivers that had darker skin or were Latino.  They were scrutinizing and detaining these vehicles more often than others.  The sheriff's lawyers are appealing the decision.  The judge ordered a retraining of the sheriff's office.  The $22 million cost comes from this retraining and the maintaining of a community advisory board.
     I thought this article was good because we already talked a little bit about this in class.  I agree that the sheriff was being very unfair.  You can't just stop people on the road because they look like illegals.  I'm glad that the county finally cracked down and put an end to this injustice.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/03/us/racial-profiling-payments/index.html?hpt=us_c2

North Korea Threatens South Korea

Unit 5  
      Last Thursday North Korea sent a fax to South Korea telling them that they would "strike mercilessly" on their nation.  This threat was in response to the recent protests against the North Korean regime.  These protests were rallying in Seoul and were burning effigies of the country's leader and of North Korean flags.  North Korea said that it disrespected their highest authority and that they would attack if protests like this occurred again.  South Korea quickly responded by saying that they would retaliate if any attack were made.  This is only one of several tensions that have occurred between North and South Korea since the Korean War.
     I think that this could be a big problem, but won't be.  North Korea is always making threats but has never really done anything with these threats.  If these threats were carried out though, I could see the USA getting involved very quickly.  The USA does not want all of Korea to fall under the North Korean regime.  They would respond if North Korea attacked South Korea.  Since we have been talking about foreign policy lately, I thought this article was appropriate.  If these threats were carried out, the current foreign policy of the USA could change very quickly.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/20/world/asia/north-korea-threats/index.html?hpt=wo_c1
   

Obama Says 2013 Wasn't the Worst of His Presidency

Unit 5  
    In a recent press conference Obama said that 2013 wasn't the worst of his presidency.  Although Obama's approval ratings are at record lows, he still denies the idea that 2013 was the worst year of his presidency and that 2013 was a failure of a year with the government.  2013 has brought a lot of governmental struggles.  Controversy over the rollout of Obamacare, government surveillance, and the government shutdown were some of these controversies that has lowered the approval rating of the president.  Obama took responsibility for the struggling Obamacare rollout.  He also said that the surveillance controversy will be investigated.  Obama firmly believes that 2014 will be one of the best years of his presidency.  He believes that if Obamacare improves that 2014 will be a lot better than 2013.
     My personal opinion is that 2013 was the worst year of his presidency.  What was his worst year?  This year has had so many controversies surrounding the government.  I can't remember a year that has had more controversy with the government shutdown over Obamacare and then the struggling rollout of Obamacare.  I also think that 2014 is going to be very controversial as well.  Obamacare is going to continue to be evaluated and criticized and there will be a lot of disagreements over it in Congress.  I also thought that this article was very appropriate for this unit because policy is often formed based on the president's performance.  Obama's performance during 2013 has caused a lot of people to reevaluate their stands on certain policies.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/20/politics/obama-news-conference/index.html?hpt=po_t1

Unemployment Rate Falls To 7%

Unit 4  
    The U.S. economy has been doing very well in terms of unemployment.  In the month of November the economy added 203,000 jobs.  It was predicted that 183,000 jobs would have payroll gains by U.S. economists.  Unlike other months in 2013, this recent boost in the number of jobs has been more widespread.  Business and Professional services added 35,000 jobs.  The transportation and warehousing sector added 30,500 jobs.  Manufacturers added 27,000 jobs and construction companies added 17,000 jobs.  This unemployment rate in 2013 has been the lowest since 2008, and 2013 has been the best job creation year since 2005.  Economists are positive about the year 2014.  Some economists think that 2014 is going to be the year that really adds a lot of jobs and drops the unemployment rate.

     I thought this article was appropriate because unemployment rate dropping can form public policy on certain issues.  My personal opinion is that I feel positive about this recent boost in our economy.  It is good to have a low unemployment rate so it's good when it is going down.  I'm just not sure if this current economy will continue to lower the unemployment rate and create more jobs.  Obamacare has been struggling and it could have a very big effect on our economy.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of years with Obamacare and other economic policies.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/06/news/economy/november-jobs-report/index.html?hpt=po_c1

President's Marks Take a Hit

Unit 4
      A recent poll has shown significant dropping in Obama's approval ratings in different areas of the presidency.  Only four out of ten people think that Obama can run the federal government effectively. 53% of Americans think that the president is dishonest.  56% of people said that the president is not a person they admire, he doesn't agree with them on important issues, and that he doesn't inspire confidence.  These statistics are largely a result of the struggling start of Obamacare and partly because of the recent government shutdown.  His best areas in this recent poll is that 60% of Americans think that he has a vision for future America and 70% think that he is still likable.
      Honestly, I feel bad for Obama.  I'm on the side that generally is not good for Obama, but I think that constantly being analyzed on your performance by all of America would be very hard.  Part of the reason his statistics are dropping are not even his fault.  The rollout of the Obamacare website is hardly even the president's fault.  Despite that, I still disagree with many of Obama's decisions and viewpoints.  I'm not going to go into detail about all of my differing viewpoints, but I can say that I think that the president could be doing a better job.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/25/presidents-marks-as-manager-take-hit-in-new-cnnorc-poll/?hpt=po_c1