McDonnell vs. Deeds: Who Will Win?

Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds have both run exceptionally aggressive campaigns for governor. Deeds has tried to paint McDonnell as an extreme conservative, whereas McDonnell has attempted to portray Deeds as a two-talking big spending politician. So far, Virginians have sided with McDonnell, for he is consistently ahead in the polls. I believe that this lead will carry through election day and McDonnell will win the election.

Virginia has been steering Democratic in recent years, but this election will break that trend. Deeds simply does not seem like a confident leader. He tends to stutter, and, as the McDonnell campaign has aptly pointed out, often contradicts himself. McDonnell, on the other hand, is the perfect candidate for Republicans. He is from Fairfax County, which will take some votes from this predominately Democratic region. McDonnell's strong conservatism will also get many votes from the southern and western parts of the state. Obama's faltering approval ratings will prove to be the final factor that will tip the election to McDonnell and give executive leadership to the Republicans.

Hate crimes bill goes to Obama for signature/Current Event 5

Background: Minority rights groups, especially gay and lesbian rights groups, have been pushing for stronger hate crime punishments for a long time. President Bush vowed to veto any such legislation to pass Congress.

Summary: The Senate passed legislation Thursday that would make assault on someone based on his sexual orientation or gender identity a federal crime. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law. This represents another effort by President Obama to reach out to the gay community, who feel that they have not received as much attention from Obama as they had been promised in his campaign.

Analysis: This legislation appears to be an effort by the Democratic party to reach out to the gay community in an effort to ensure their votes. There are already hate crime laws on the books, so this new legislation simply strengthens what is already there.

Editorial: We should not make a distinction between regular crimes and "hate" crimes. There are laws to protect gays from violence--the same laws that protect everyone from violence. Hate crime laws come very close to criminalizing speech. We should have no laws in America that make people afraid to speak their minds.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/22/hate.crimes/index.html

Biggest Political Issue Facing Virginia

The biggest political issue facing Virginia is the transportation issue.  Our transportation system, especially here in Northern Virginia, is stressed everyday as it struggles to handle all the people that use it.  Many roads are in desperate need of repair, and public transportation lags behind the rest of the country.  Both candidates in the current gubernatorial race have stressed transportation in their campaigns.  The issue is sure to be a deciding factor for many Virginians who are currently undecided as to who they are going to vote for, for it affects all citizens.  Everyone in Virginia uses the state's roadways and railways, and everyone desires a faster way to get places.  Our transportation system affects all citizens, not just some interested groups, and that is why it is the biggest issue facing the State of Virginia.

Newlywed won't tolerate 'overt racism' by Louisiana official/Current Event 4

Background: Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Louisiana, recently refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple.  Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay had their request for a license denied by Bardwell because they were of different races.  Bardwell claims he is not a racist, and that he was concerned about discrimination that any children of the couple might face.

Summary: Humphrey and McKay, who did indeed get a marriage license from another justice of the peace, say they are considering legal action against Bardwell.  The Louisiana Governor is already calling for the dismissal of Bardwell, an action that Humphrey says she endorses.  Humphrey says she is glad to have the opportunity to "stand up to people who choose to live with hate in their lives".

Analysis: It looks like Humphrey will have an easy victory if she does go ahead with her lawsuit.  Bardwell seems to have underestimated how far our country has come since the days of segregation and discrimination in the South.

Editorial: I do not believe Bardwell's claim that he was worried for the couple's future children.  The children would not even be discriminated against anyways.  Someone as blatantly racist as Bardwell should not serve in public office, and I hope that Humphrey goes to the full extent of the law to punish Bardwell for his discrimination.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/17/mckay.folo/index.html

Obama Report Card

Health Care:  D+. Health care reform was supposed to be the trademark of Obama's presidency, and it doesn't look like a bill concerning it will be passing in Congress any time soon.  There has been passionate resistance to a public health care option, as evidenced by the angry town hall meetings across America on the subject.  Even supporters of this reform can see that all the efforts to bring about health care reform have failed so far.  This is not to say that they will continue to fail, but I think it will be very difficult for Obama to pass a health care reform bill capable of fulfilling all his campaign promises with such fiery resistance to such a prospect.

Economic Downturn: D-.  Spending money that we don't have will not revive the economy.  Obama's massive stimulus package has done nothing to curb unemployment, which is now nearing 10%.  He is simply leaving the next generation a massive debt to deal with.  The economy is cyclical and will revive eventually, but Obama is not helping by spending such massive amounts of money that have only a minor positive impact on the economy. 

War on Terror: C.  First off, Obama's attempt to change the name of the War on Terror to "Overseas Contingency Operation" is a needless, stupid political move.  We are in a war against terrorism, of all kinds, and should not be afraid to admit it.  I do not agree with Obama's decision to remove troops from Iraq--that nation is still not stable, and withdrawing now leaves a chaotic state that could easily turn into a breeding ground for terrorists.  Now that he has removed these troops, however, I fully agree with the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.  We must win this war.  The potential for terrorist activity in the Middle East, particularity Afghanistan, is too high to cease military involvement there now.

Overall: D+.  So far, I have not seen any major improvements under the Obama administration.  I even think his handling of the economic downturn has made the situation worse in the long term.  It is still early in Obama's presidency, and I truly hope that he does great things for our country, but based on his campaign promises and progress so far I'm hard pressed to see this happening.

Arizona Sheriff Vows to Continue Immigration Sweeps Despite Federal Downgrade/Current Event 3

Background: The issue of illegal immigration seems to have taken a back seat to health care and the economy, among other things, with the Obama administration.  However, the issue is still greatly affecting our nation, especially in states that border Mexico.  Local law enforcement in these states has generally been given permission by the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws.

Summary: Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has long made illegal immigrants the main target of all his arrests.  He has assembled a large group of policemen whose sole job is the tracking of illegal immigrants.  However, his methods of making these arrests and the subsequent treatment of  the illegals have received much scrutiny for being too harsh.  To address law hard-line law enforcement officers like Arpaio, the Department of Homeland Security recently revised an immigration law enforcement policy, taking away Arpaio and other sheriffs' authority to make such arrests.  Arpaio has vowed to proceed with his illegal immigrant sweep planned for Friday despite this new federal mandate.

Analysis: Sheriff Arpaio seems motivated by more than a sheriff's usual desire to enforce laws in his crusade against illegal immigration.  The fact that Arpaio puts the vast majority of the resources of his office into tracking illegal immigrants shows that he has become somewhat of an ineffective sheriff.  It looks as if Arpaio has stepped outside of his state powers.

Editorial:  Sheriff Arpaio's war against illegal immigration is obviously based on his own racist tendencies.  The man has shown over and over the crazed renegade that he is.  The true problem lies with the residents of Maricopa County, who elect Arpaio over and over.  A man with no respect for the federal law is not fit to enforce his interpretation of state law.  While I agree with Arpaio in the sense that the federal government is not doing nearly enough to stop illegal immigration and enforce their laws, Arpaio has taken his own fight to too much of an extreme, and should be stripped of his office as Sheriff if he goes ahead with his raid this Friday.

Source:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/12/arizona-sheriff-vows-continue-immigration-sweeps-despite-federal-downgrade/

Interest in Political Issue

One political issue that I am interested in is national security.  There was much backlash after 9/11 that the new government actions designed to protect us from further attacks were an infringement on personal rights.  The lengthy Patriot Act, which increased the power of the federal government to run surveillance over those in the country without prior notice, received much scrutiny for being a violation of privacy.

This issue interests me because it pertains to the safety of Americans.  Other political issues have the potential to greatly impact our lives, but they can only do so if our lives are safe.  Possibly having the federal government listen in on a harmless phone call is a small price to pay in order to avoid another catastrophe like that of 9/11.

Several who went to Pakistan with Zazi back in U.S./Current Event 2

Background: Afghan-born Colorado resident Najibullah Zazi was arrested September 20 on charges of misleading investigators when he was found to have lied about the ownership of handwriting found on bombmaking materials; the handwriting was found to be that of Zazi.  Investigators believe that Zazi is the ringleader of an al-Qaeda cell preparing to launch a terrorist attack in the United States.

Summary: Several men who are thought to have been conspiring with Zazi to execute a terrorist attack are now back in the United States.  These men, who travelled to Peshewar, Pakistan with Zazi in August (Peshewar is known to have a strong al-Qaeda presence), are currently under surveillence by the federal government.  Meanwhile, Zazi is on trial in New York, where he is pleading not guilty to conspiring with others to detonate explosives in the United States.

Analysis: The evidence against Zazi and his co-conspirators is staggering, but yet Zazi continues to deny any terrorist leanings.  Zazi must feel that he has some upper-hand on the prosecution in this case.  If Zazi is indeed involved in al-Qaeda, he will most likely have much support in attempting to win his case.

Editorial: Najibullah Zazi is unmistakably a terrorist.  I do not understand why our country treats non-citizens who have shown interest in harming citizens to many of the same rights as the citizens themselves.  Yes, we need to be careful not to step too far and arrest those who simply critique our government or values, but there is substantial evidence to conclude that Zazi and his co-conspirators were planning to kill many American citizens.  We cannot afford to let Zazi go free on some legal loophole in a civil trial.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/04/us.terror.probe/index.html