More in the Middle East

Egypt declared a state of emergency in Sinai after two separate terrorist attacks by a jihadist group claiming 31 soldiers lives. Sinai has been a wild wild east in a sense for Egypt since the president Hosni Mubarak was ousted and has only gotten worse when the new Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in 2013. No specific group has come forward but it is believed that the group is angry after the 2013 ordeal. Egypt has combated the extremists with attacks of their own: capturing and killing those suspected. The most prominent group of jihadists are called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis and has expressed verbal support for ISIS.

I think that the Egyptian Government has handled the situation very well and efficient. They issued a statement: "The army and the police will take all necessary measures to tackle the dangers of terrorism and its financing, to preserve the security of the region... and protect the lives of citizens,"
I believe that they can overcome this threat to their government. However, I also believe that if all of these jihadist groups join together into one massive group they could become a huge threat. 

The Vice Presidency

Thomas Marshall said, "Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea; the other was elected vice president of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again" I think this quote sums up the vise presidency for the most part. However there are a few exceptions to my opinion. For example, Gerald Ford as president. Some people think that the office should not be chosen by the president. This article talks about the vice president office. In the article the writer talks about a conversation he had with Bob Bauer a believer in changing the way we elect the vice president. He gives his reasons why in the article, Sarah Palin, for example. Bauer has not put tons of thought to how exactly he wants it to change but one idea includes giving the office to the candidate in your party that has the second most delegates. I thought it was interesting.

This is, though interesting, just all talk. I think that it would create contention if the vice was the second most delegate getter even if they come from the same party they might have had a heated primary. Despite this I think there will be some good things to come out of that. For one, the presidential election would hopefully be more focused on the one running for president not the hype they get when selecting a vice. I think that there would be less Cheneys and more competent VPs. In conclusion I think it's cool speculation but there are many more urgent problems that need to be fixed about the US Government first. 

Another School Shooting

This story just barely popped up when I was looking for something to write about so I there aren't many details. I thought it relevant because the football team is in the area. So here we go again: the shooting happened at Marysville Pilchuck High School (what a name) near Seattle Jaylen Fryberg shot four people (2 of which being his cousins) killing one and injuring another four. Fryberg died at the school either by his own hand or by the police; who responded in four minutes. We still don't know who was killed by the gunman. The gun used was bought legally. We've heard it all before. The same sad story.

Now the question remains: what should we do about the security in the schools? We could make going to school be like going through airport security. Metal detectors and officers at the door  would be standard. That would suck and I doubt it would come to that.

I did some more reasearch and found that the gun used was a hand gun and it was owned by the shooter's father. He was a popular kid and the students at the scene said they don't know why he did it and were surprised it was Fryburg.  I'm no expert in psychology, but the only explanation I can think of is that he has some mental disorder that has just surfaced or something. I think a part of the blame goes to the father for not locking his gun up. The kid was in high school and experienced with guns so I bet his dad was just as surprised as the students that took the bullets.

Freaking Student Loans

When you think student loans you think the poor college kid, right? Well, a shocking number of seniors, not college seniors but people like 65 and older, are still paying off their student loans from the 1970's. CRAZY. This article tells the story of a few seniors who have accumulated student loans and have never paid them off. For example, Janet Lee Dupree, 72, owes $16,000 and Rosemary Anderson, (57 owes $128,000) . The department of education said it's, "Committed to working with older borrowers to help them understand and manage debt". Some stats from the article:

• Outstanding student loan debt in the US amounts to $1tr

• 3% of households headed by individuals 65 or over carry student debt (706,000 households)

• 24% of households headed by individuals 64 or under carry student debt (22 million households)

• The outstanding federal debt for older adults grew from $2.8bn in 2005 to $18.2bn in 2013

• 27% of federal student loans held by individuals aged 65 to 74 are in default, compared to 12% of loans to people between the ages of 25 and 49

Being a future college student this worries me. I plan to avoid student loans as much as I can, but that would be in a perfect world. If I do have to take out a loan it would be small and manageable. Any kind of loans scares me though, I hate spending money. Anderson said, "Retirement is not part of my vocabulary," and, "I will never live long enough to pay off my loan." This scares me more than anything. Working till you are 80 sounds awful. I just wonder what happens to the organization she borrowed from when she doesn't pay off the rest of the loan? I guess they have already made up some of the money they gave her. I just think that this is a scary reality and as long as they are paid off quickly student loans are a tool. 

"Ebola, Race, and Fear"

"Ebola, Race, and Fear"
(BBC Article)

      Since the first case of ebola on US soil was reported, the virus has become more real for Americans. There have been some of cases of companies giving their employees, who have been to Texas recently, a paid week off even though they haven't come in contact with anybody with the virus. Colleges tell students from Africa are told that they can't go to school there even though they have come from a country without an ebola case. This article argues that Americans are profiling ebola with Africans. Ebola is feeding the fire of racism in the United States. Some argue that white guilt instead of racism is the story present. White guilt is stopping Americans and Europeans from changing the culture of the African people that catalyzes the spread of ebola.

      I think that this article is playing up the hype of ebola. Sure its a terrible disease that needs to be contained. With the culture and the conditions in Africa these outbreaks will happen. Ebola is a very important problem that needs to be dealt with but it will, however, the media is always making problems bigger than they really are. There wouldn't be this much fear if we didn't hear about the scary death count everyday. 

Law and Order Civil Asset Forfeiture Unit

After 9/11 the police were given the power to search any "suspicious" people for drugs and stuff. They were encouraged to act more aggressively and the department of Homeland Security spent millions on training. This effort did help confiscate illegal drugs, contraband... and money. However, officers have exploited this power to get what they want. People had to fight the act legally, and that could last for more than a year, to get their money back. Click here* (Strong language) for some examples. The Washington Post did an investigation to find the extent of the unethical seizures. They found that highway officers have confiscated over four billion dollars on highways since 9/11. By law they are allowed to keep this money. Click here for all of the post's findings. The police use this money to get equipment used to help the force.

      I think that this could be useful, but there have been reports of police using the money to buy a margarita machine. That is ridiculous. If the officers are taking the money for purposes like that I think that this law is unconstitutional. Overall I think that IF the money is taken for a just cause and if it is used to help the police function then it has a place in society. However because of these negative reports, I don't think that the police should have this power. I would be willing to pay more taxes to help the police force but this is terrible. Whats next? will the police start taking control of our houses? Oh... wait...

"America Deserves a Raise"

     President Barack Obama gave a speech in Milwaukee on labor day focused on minimum wage. Raising minimum wage has been a goal of the president's since he took office. His last attempt was thwarted by a republican controlled house earlier this year. The President argues that when states had increased minimum wage the jobs increased as well. Although we have seen economic improvements recently, the unemployment rates remain high and there is still a long way to go.

      Being employed and making just over minimum wage this bill would impact me significantly. Evidence shows that Obama wants to raise the limit to around $10 an hour. It appears that this would turn into more money, but would it really? We have to think past the raise and look at the consequences. Higher prices. The president, however, states that it would create more jobs. I think that it would help grow the economy if people were given a living wage. You can read about it more here and please leave your opinion.
Thanks