Gas Prices Prompt New Ads in Indiana

Another primary election means more advertisements and more muckraking politics. Clinton is still high off her Pennsylvania win and wants to continue to get those votes to stay in the race. Clinton supporters from California funded an anti-Obama ad in Indiana in hopes that it will give Clinton the push she needs from voters. We are all aware that Mrs. Clinton decided to run negative ads against Obama as her tactic to squeeze all the voters from the Obama camp into her own. It is no surprise that once again her ad goes straight to negativity.



It is interesting though because her ad is actually true. Obama does disagree with Clinton on how to lower gas prices he knows that taxing the oil companies will do nothing in the long run. Obama, on the other hand, has also come up with his own ad for the upcoming primaries. He doesn't run a slanderous attack at anyone, he just states why he doesn't think Clinton's idea will work. He actually explains how things happen not just state that they will happen. Hopefully people can look up the facts themselves and not rely on Clinton's skewed ad to figure out who they will vote for.

Bloggers Speak Out Against Obama

Liberal Bloggers have spoken out against Obama's recent appearance on Fox with Chris Matthews. Obama said that he was going to go on Fox because it has been on the forefront of spreading rumors. He vowed to "take fox on" by going on Fox News this past weekend but unfortunately this did not happen.

He had several chances to address Fox and it's critiques of his lifestyle and campaign but did not choose to. This made liberal bloggers angry because they felt as though he shouldn't have gone on Fox News at all unless it was to hit back. Fox is known to be a conservative news station owned by Rupert Murdoch so many liberals believe going on Fox is contradictory. The only way people saw it as appropriate was under the assumption that Obama was going to defend himself and attack Fox news for their rumors. When none of this happened bloggers were angry because they felt as though Obama was just trying to appeal to the other side.

I understand their thinking and I also believe that Obama would have looked better to both sides if he were to address the issues and make a statement against Fox's actions. But attacking a whole news station isn't something a political candidate can do without ruffling even more feathers.

Democratic Candidates Urged to Drop Out

The Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean has made his opinion known that one of the Democratic candidates should drop out by June. June would give the Democratic candidate more time to gain voters in order to stand up to John McCain in the general election.

I think this logic is sound considering the democratic party is pretty split over Obama and Clinton. When it comes down to it, I don't think either of these candidates is willing to step down. They both have put a lot of effort into the race and both are in reach of the goal. Even though Obama has a slight lead, Clinton is still in this. They most likely will fight till the death, figuratively speaking.

Clinton or Obama must drop out by June

Presidential Candidates Pro-Israel Stance

Pro-Israel seems to be the position of all the Presidential candidates. This doesn't come to any surprise considering most Christian-Americans tend to be Pro-Israel. Usually the candidates waiver somewhat in most political areas but Clinton, Obama, and McCain all seem to be equal in their position. McCain just seems to be more vocal about his position than the others.

McCain made a trip to Israel and stated that Jerusalem was the Capital of Israel. For many people that statement could bring up resentment. The Jews in America might be more inclined to vote for McCain due to this statement but Arabs see it as an insult and a definite negative.

Israel took over the city of Jerusalem in the 1967 War and claimed it as their capital city. Many would argue that this was all done illegally. Even though Jerusalem has been under Israeli control ever since, the issue remains a huge deterrence to peace efforts. Both religions in the region want to claim Jerusalem as their own, in which case the other would not be happy. To me, the best solution would be to make Jerusalem an internationally controlled city, open to both religions as well as others.

The fact that McCain is open about his thoughts that Jerusalem belongs to Israel might gain and lose some voters but it definitely shows that a Peace process will be almost impossible to accomplish if McCain is elected as President.



Related Articles:

On Israel, Candidates All Aim to be like Bush
Presidential Candidates’ Views on Israel and Palestine

Iraq's Huge Cost to American Taxpayers

With the upcoming elections, the war in Iraq has become a primary concern for some voters. We have now been in Iraq since 2003 and with little to show for it. There is a looming concern that we won't be leaving anytime soon which disappoints a lot of voters out there. The presidential candidates have all had to have a hard line on Iraq policy because voters want to know what they stand for. Iraq is a major issue for most Americans not only because of the moral issue but also because of the monetary aspect.

Iraq has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars and has cost the economy more than that. As someone who is going to graduate college at this point in time, with a looming recession overhead, I am very nervous. Jobs are scarce and the jobs that are being offered are offered at a lower pay scale. The billions of tax dollars spent on the Iraq war could be spent on something that we are actually getting something out of. Many Americans, as we can see in this video, feel the same.

Clinton Gains Momentum

Hillary Clinton was able to pull out a victory in Pennsylvania yesterday. She responded that her momentum will get her farther in the primary. She hopes to raise 10 million dollars in one day in order to rally for the next primary election coming up. She will need it, she is a bit behind and needs help in order to get the votes she needs to catch up to Obama.

Barack Obama continues to stick with his strategy and believes that his delegate lead is what will get him the candidacy for President. I think even with all the money he has raised, Clinton is gaining on him and he must begin to really step up with next two states.

Hillary Clinton Strikes Fear in Hearts of Voters

Here we go again with politicians using fear tactics in order to get votes. Hillary Clinton uses images of war, fiscal crisis, and Osama Bin Laden to point out that there are several things that the President of the United States has to deal with.

Thank you Captain obvious. Hopefully the American public is aware that the president has a lot on his plate.

These ads are amusing because they don't say why Hillary would be better at dealing with these issues, just that she would be. Maybe this ad will affect the voters in Pennsylvania today with the election going on but maybe not. Clinton is already slated to win in Pennsylvania hopefully not because of this commercial. The commercial proves nothing except that Clinton will steep as low as it takes to get the democratic nomination.

'Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy' Leader's Paper Backs Clinton

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080420/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_endorsement

I think it is really ironic that a newspaper that was so quick to get President Bill Clinton impeached is backing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee. I understand that they are not the same people but they are similar. If you are electing one of the Clinton members you are electing the other as well. Bill will be back in the white house, just in a different form than the last time.

The newspaper says that Hillary has more experience than Obama because she has first-lady experience of the president and governor. If the paper didn't like Bill Clinton then why would Hillary's experience of learning politics though her husband be more legitimate and make her a better candidate?

Parents of Girl Beaten Up by 8 Other Girls Speak Out

I'm sure most American people have heard this story because it has been all over the news recently. A girl was invited over to a house by a group of her girl friends where she was subsequently beaten up by them. The whole thing was taped via video camera and then posted on the internet.

Her parents talk about how myspace and youtube are the anti-Christ and how none of this would have happened if it weren't for these types of websites. I agree that this is a horrible, horrible thing that happened and that, yes, the internet was part of the reason that these girls did this. They wanted the fame and the shock value that comes from this type of video.

What it really comes down to is how these girls were raised. Any person with any compassion for another human being would know that beating another girl to a pulp is morally WRONG. They had the choice to beat the girl up or not, it wasn't the internet that made them do it. They could have just as easily posted a video about something else less destructive and still gotten a following from it.

Pope Visits the White House

The Pope arrived in the United States and talked with President Bush this week. The pope has said several things that were against the United States but it seemed as though he was having a pleasant visit. The Pope said: "I am confident that the American people will find in their religious beliefs a precious source of insight and an inspiration to pursue reasoned, responsible and respectful dialogue in the effort to build a more humane and free society."

He concluded: "God bless America".

I understand that the Pope is supposed to endorse religion but I'm pretty sure that we can find reasoned, responsible and respectful dialogue without being religious. Religion isn't the only thing that makes people good and moral. Look at Islamic Jihad, they are religious... do they pursue any of these thing? No... They murder in mass, they suicide bomb with women and children around, and they have a disregard for human life. I don't think religion is the only thing that will bring about a more humane and free society.

Courage of Fellow Bloggers

While reading a post of a fellow blogger I am reminded of how truly great we have it in America. For all of the world's sadness and war, America is one of the best places to live.

The bloggers I read about live in Gaza and speak of their issues of everyday life. It is amazing to me, the courage these people have to have to endure a life like that. Even for all of the problems America has right now, I can still live my life not worrying about where my next meal will come from or if I can cross the street without being hit by a mortar shell. My heart really goes out to these people and I hope they can continue trying to share their experiences with the rest of the world that doesn't know or want to know what's going on outside of America.

Emotion VS. Machine

My sociology of emotions professor said that Hillary Clinton was almost too much of a machine and that Barack Obama was too emotional. I don't know about that myself. I think Hillary has to be a machine because she is going to get a lot of shit for being a woman and being too emotional. Obama being too emotional is just wrong. He tries to inspire and play his passionate side but that doesn't mean he is emotional. Any thoughts?

Not exactly the Obama Girl

There have been over 7 million viewings of the Obama Girl YouTube Video "I've got a crush on Obama" at this point in the election process. Her videos have become popular for several reasons: her lyrics, singing and lets not forget she isn't that bad looking. Below is a spin-off of this but for Republican John McCain.

What these ladies thought they were doing is just beyond me...

UCI Debate over Democratic Primary Elections

Normally, I am not one to attend after-school events but I decided to attend a debate between UCI professors tonight. The topic was the Democratic National Committee stripping Florida and Michigan of their voting delegates. This was due to violating party rules by scheduling their primaries too early.

There were two sides to the debate... but other than that I couldn't really tell you who was for what. They seemed to blur both sides often and it was especially hard to decipher through the Q&A section.

I thought that one side had valuable arguments about the individual rights of a voter and their disenfranchisement of not having their vote counted. On the other side, the individual state's right to have a different system of rules and laws as long as the the voters in that state are treated as equals was a valid point. The problem with the debate was that they didn't have cohesive arguments that linked why the rights of the voter conflicted with the rights of the state. Also, they needed to address more in depth of what the actual law was that these states violated and why it was important. That would have cleared up a lot since most people in the room did not have a law degree and therefore, might not have known all of the aspects of the debate.

Debates are fun but only when you can follow the arguments at hand.

Presidential Candidate in Need of Makeover?

While having some friends over for dinner the conversation topic, of course, got on the subject of the democratic presidential candidates. The debate over Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ensued and opinions were thrown around. Nothing really stood out as something I hadn't heard before since these topics had all been covered by the various media sources. The thing that really struck me was when someone said that Hillary Clinton really needed a makeover.

Now don't get me wrong, I definitely think that some people in this world are in dire need of a makeover but the fact that this was said over a presidential candidate threw me.

Why, as Americans, are we so quick to judge a woman based on her appearance to the point that a makeover is listed as a reason to why someone wouldn't vote for her? Not once have I heard that about a male presidential candidate. Obama does not get criticized because his tie does not match his suit, why should Hillary Clinton get criticized by her appearance? If Hillary wins the candidacy and eventually the white house are we going to have her on OK magazine's worst style award or are we going to see her as past presidents, where style has little affect on their popularity?

A woman should get the same treatment as a man. A woman presidential candidate should not have to worry whether her style is going to cost her the presidency. People don't have to like Hillary Clinton but they should treat her the same as any other presidential candidate.

Short Films Aspire to Bring Peace

Some leading film-makers are creating films to change the way we see and/or think about other countries. Pangea day was created in order to bring the world together through film. Movie shorts will be shown across the world in different cities. It is a good idea but I don't see how the films can really have an impact on world peace...

This is one of the the films to be shown on Pangea Day, May 10th of this year.