102 Year-Old Going Back to School

Michigan, September 29, 2012

           This is truly a feel good story. Margaret Dunning is an 102 year-old car enthusiast. She went to the University of Michigan 80 years ago but had to drop out because of The Great Depression. At a ceremony this week,  Dunning was presented with free tuition at the University of Michigan and free car-care products for the rest of her life. She originally made headlines because of her love of all things cars and the 1930 Packard she bought in 1949 that she still drives. She does all of her own oil changes and spark plugs changes even today. She says she is extremely excited to go back to school and she will probably go for a business degree. (NBC)

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/49185191/ns/today-good_news/

Muslim Protesters Torch Buddhist Temples

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
September 30, 2012

            Hundreds of Muslims in Bangladesh today burned down 15 homes and Buddhist temples because they said a Buddhist man insulted Islam. Apparently the insult came from a picture posted on Facebook. The police put a system in place that banned gatherings in the area of the burned buildings to try and keep the situation under control. "Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir described the attacks on temples as a "premeditated and deliberate attempt" to disrupt harmony." (NBC) Muslims have been on edge recently because of the video made by a California man that insulted the prophet, Mohammad. Alamgir promised to rebuild the temples and compensate for the homes that were lost. Muslims honestly need to relax and realize that htey can't just kill and hurt everyone who insults them. That is not how the world works. Sometimes you just have to accept that people might not agree with your beliefs, but they are allowed to disagree.

Editorial: California Bans "Gay Cure"

California, September 30, 2012:
              
            Today, California became  the first state to ban "gay cure" therapy for kids. This is therapy that tries to turn thought ot be gay kids, straight. Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1172, which prohibits children under age 18 from undergoing “sexual orientation change efforts.” The law goes into effect Jan. 1 and  prohibits state-licensed therapists from engaging in these practices with minors.
             I think it's great that California has this ban in effect.  I am actually shocked however, that more states don't already have a similar ban in place. I hope more states will follow their lead and create one. I think we are probably closest to this in the northern states because they tend to be more tolerant than the south. The south will definitely not have any laws in favor of gay marriage any time soon.
             Besides the fact that this kind of therapy is allowed, the idea that parents would actually take their kids to therapy to make them straight is appalling. I can't even imagine the psychological damage that the child would endure from this. First of all, they wouldn't all of a sudden become straght. Secondly, they are basically being told by the people that are supposed to love them unconditionally that they are not good enough the way they are and they need to change themselves so people will like them better. These kinds of parents just make me really sad for the kids that are not being accepted for no reason at all.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/30/14159337-california-becomes-first-state-in-nation-to-ban-gay-cure-therapy-for-children?lite

Bullied Teen to Homecoming Princess

http://cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/09/29/pkg-bullied-homecoming.cnn

                 Michigan 16 year-old Whitney Kropp was bullied her whole life by her peers. Recently, her classmates nominated her for homecoming court as a joke. When the community found out, she got a huge amount of support. She originally didn't want to accept her nomination and was even contemplating suicide until her sister convinced her that she should prove them all wrong. A local bridal shop gave her a dress for free and a salon did her hair and make up, all for free. Whitney couldn't believe the support she was getting and knew that she made the right decision by accepting the nomination. "When asked whether she had a message for other kids who deal with bullying, the teen said it's important to "not let them bring you down. Stand up for what you believe in and go with your heart and go with your gut. That's what I did, and look at me now. I'm just as happy as can be!" (CNN) Shannon Champgne also commented and said, "Every girl looks forward to being on that homecoming court and for her name to be called. For her to be so excited about that and then just to find out that it was all just a joke, it just — it really touched me." Some kids also went to the homecoming game from hours away to show their support for Whitney. This just goes to show that not all news has to be devastating, horrible news.

Foxconn Plant Closing

Acording to MSNBC Foxconn Technology Group is a company in China that assembles Apple iPhones. As of today, the plant has been closed due to a brawl in the dorms of the company, involving 2,000 workers. Fox news says, "It was not clear how long the shutdown would last at the plant, which employs about 79,000 people in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan, while police and company officials investigate the cause of the disturbance." This is a huge number of people, maybe not for China but relative to the world, so this shutdown of the whole company really effects a large number of families. Although there have been comments from the company sayign it will only be closed one day for investigation, some people are expecting that it will be closed longer. There have been a few incidents recently related to Foxconn which draws a lot of attention in other countries because it mainly supplies for Apple. They have also been accused of poor conditions and mistreatment of the workers. Clearly, Foxconn needs to get itself together and try to create a better image for themselves and for Apple

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2012/09/24/foxconn-closes-plant-after-major-employee-brawl/#ixzz27P0MoMeP

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49146545

Amtrak Mystery

Charlie Dowd was a retired San Francisco firefighter who boarded an Amtrak train going from California to Chicago on September 12. He had planned on switching trains in Chicago to go to Montreal to visit  his son. According to NBC News, "...when the train pulled into the Chicago station, Dowd was not aboard, yet his luggage, cell phone and medication were." Fox news reports that some "...passengers that saw him had investigators thinking he may have fallen off the train in eastern Colorado or western Nebraska." NBC was a little more thorough with their report by saying that one witness said that they saw him lingering around a train door around 11 pm. They also say that some people saw a man who seemed disoriented and confused, saying he was in an apartment not realizing he was still on the train. Now Dowd's body has been found in Nebraska near the train tracks. The statement released from the family is as follows, “While the family is devastated, they would like to express their gratitude for the many prayers, support, and messages posted to the Charlie Dowd Facebook page, and for the efforts of the many volunteers who have helped search for him this past week."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/22/worker-finds-body-california-man-missing-from-train/#ixzz27JWg5Fj9

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/22/14036099-body-of-california-retiree-who-vanished-from-train-discovered-in-nebraska?lite#__utma=238145375.1622917693.1348419584.1348419584.1348419584.1&__utmb=238145375.1.10.1348419584&__utmc=238145375&__utmx=-&__utmz=238145375.1348419584.1.1.utmcsr=bottomline.nbcnews.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/_news/2012/09/21/14009108-chick-fil-a-waffles-on-gay-marriage-rights-fries-brand-image&__utmv=238145375.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Cus%20news=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.msnbc.msn.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=64168428

Editorial: Chick-fil-A

Over the summer, it was brought to the country's attention that the popular Southern restaurant chain Chick-fil-A donated money to anti-gay organizations. Many people came oit and supported the company for being anti-gay but others seemed to be shocked by the revelation. Some even going as far as to boycott the company altogether. I do support gay rights and think gay marriage should be legal however businesses have the right to donate money to whatever organizations they want to. The fact that Chikc-fil-A supports anti-gay organizations shouldn't really be a big shock anyway considering they are based out of Atlanta and are owned by a Christian family. I understand where the people who are boycotting are coming from but I also think it is a bit ridiculous. A few years ago Target came out and said that they donated money to anti-gay organizations and I don't think many people are boycotting them. Recently, Dan Cathy, the owner of Chick-fil-A said that it would "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation and gender." This has many people, including myself, wondering where their beliefs truly are. I personally think that the gay and gay supporting community was a big demographic for them and they have since lost sales from these people no longer buying their food. He probably changed his opinion, for the media anyway, to get his business back on track. I can't ersonally say that I would go to a Chick-fil-A because they are really only in the south but I might just to see what all the hype is about.

http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/21/14009108-chick-fil-a-waffles-on-gay-marriage-rights-fries-brand-image?lite

I Side With...

My results show that I side 91% with Obama. I am not surprised by this outcome because I already knew that I liked Obama and his policies, and I agree with them completely. One of the reasons it shows I side with Obama it because of the social issues which I completely side with him on and I said that these issues were the most important to me. Also, I sided with him on scientific and  domestic issues. The only issue I have with this test is the fact hat it doesn't account for how trustworthy you find this candidate to be and how you think they are as a person. For example, I do agree with Obama on most of the issues but I also think he tries a little too hard to be like the cool president. Although I think it's a good way to show everyone his fun-loving side, sometimes it goes a little too far to the point where I think someone needs to remind him that he is the president of the United States and should probably take things more seriously. 

New American Idol Judges

The new American Idol judges were announced yesterday and the line up is Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, and Keith Urban. I'm not sure how I feel abotu these people as judges but I'm sure the line up will be cahnged again next year anyway. Nicki Minaj is fun and entertaining, and quite honestly, insane. She will absolutely fill the crazy woman role on the show as Paula Abdul had in previous years. I am not a fan of Mariah Carey, she seems to be a diva and I think she will expect some kind of special treatment on the show. And people will give it to her because she's Mariah Carey. I don't know why Randy is still here. Everyone else has moved on to other projects and he is just there. He doesn't bring anything new to the table, with his all too well known catchphrases that he says to abslutely everyone they see. Now, I have nothing against Keith Urban, but I feel like he is out of place. He still has a successful career as a musician so I don't think he really needs to be doing this show. But let's be honest, who even watches American Idol anyway?

http://www.tmz.com/2012/09/16/american-idol-judges-mariah-carey-randy-jackson-nicki-minaj-keith-urban/

Video: Man Found Living in Ex-Girlfriend's Attic

Recently I saw this video on YouTube and it really interested me. A woman named Tracy from South Carolina dated a man for about a year, five years ago. A few years ago she asked him to install some doors in her house. He did the job but also decided to hide in a crawl space in her attic and live there. Tracy's family kept hearing noises and other strange activity so they thought there were ghosts, or poltergeists in her hosue. One day, she saw nails falling form the ceiling and told her nephew to go upstairs and look and he found the man. They found out that he had old jackets stuffed in the heasting ducts for a bed and Sonic cups as his toilet.Also, he could see into Tracy's room from the heating vents in he ceiling. He escaped before the police could come and now no one can find him, keeping Tracy and herfive children on edge.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MKkLFgs1_0&feature=plcp

Moment of Silence for Kris Kardashian

On September 11, 2012, the eleventh anniversary of the 2001 terrotists attacks, the country united in a moment of silence at 8:46, or at least they were supposed to. The moment of silence is observed to remember the lives that were lost on this day and at 8:46 for  the moment when the first plane slammed into the Twin Towers. CBS and Fox aired the moment of silence at was expected and NBC aired an interview of Kri Kardashian. The main focus of the interview was actually to talk about her breast implants and the new season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The only place the interview was not aired was in New York City but everywhere else saw it. It might be understandable is the network showed the least bit of remorse for their actions but instead they said that , "TODAY had devoted sufficient air time to the 11th anniversary of the tragedy, including a segment with a Twin Towers attack survivor and multiple shots of the emerging Freedom Tower throughout the program. Some NBC affiliates aired the memorials, and MSNBC aired the entire TODAY show from 9/11/2001." Regardless of the fact that they aired multiple things having to do with 9/11, they didn't participate in a nationwide event that is supposed to be in rememberance of the most horrific terrorist attacks in American history.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/09/11/today-interviews-kris-jenner-instead-observing-moment-silence-for-victims-11/#ixzz26ewYALhl

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/nbc_today_skips_moment_for_kardashian_M555GSBZoqaEHSKLxUaEUM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48991320/ns/business-us_business/t/nbcs-today-skips-moment-kardashian/

Chicago Teacher Strike

For about a week now, members of the Chicago Teachers Union have been on strike due to lack of job security, low wages, and strict evaluations. This left 400,000 students out of school for the week. Parents haven't been able to go to work so they are losing money, and possibly their jobs, while others are losing money by putting their kids into day care. The main problem is the evaluations which will become more frequent under a new Illinois law. Teachers say this isn't fair because some of them are having to teach kids who can't read or write so their grades will reflect that. They say that administration cannot evaluate teachers based solely on test scores. Some also say that this will lead to teachers giving easier tests just so the kids can pass, or even cheating on state administered exams.

This past Saturday the union said it would offer a three-year contract with a "3 percent cost of living increase in the first year and 2 percent raises in the second and third years, along with preserving pay for longevity and additional education." It also doesn't fix the problem of the evaluations because they will still be based on test scores but teachers will have a chance to appeal their ratings.

Also on Saturday, there was a rally held in Chicago in support of the teachers on strike. Teachers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Boston showed up also in support of them. According to Fox, "With no contract ready and the strike still formally in effect after days of anticipation over a deal to end it, a rally scheduled for Saturday was unlikely to be a victory celebration. Instead, it was shaping up as a show of force for organized labor after a string of setbacks."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/15/end-to-chicago-teachers-strike-is-not-assured/#ixzz26es7sPtZ

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49050486

Editorial: Taxpayers Spending in Egypt and Libya

According to NBC News, Barack Obama is proposing that American taxpayers spend about $1.55 billion for aid to Egypt and  $1.5 million for aid to Libya in the next year. As much as I like Obama, I think this is absolutely ridiculous. Clearly, this money is not being put to good use if the extremists of these countries are killing Americans and burning the American flag. I think we should get out of these countries completely and leave them alone. We need to worry about ourselves in the United States. These countries really shouldn't be a big deal when there is a horrible unemployment rate and a bad economy here. I honestly don't understand why we would try to help people who clearly don't want it and are against us. This whole story really makes me question whether I am for or against Obama.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/14/13866898-how-much-are-taxpayers-spending-on-egypt-and-libya?lite

About Me

This is the blog of Alex Powers for State of the Union. Just so you're not taken off guard when you decide to read my blog, I will say that I have very strong opinions about certain issues, especially those having to do with politics. I consider myself a democrat and pretty much against anything that has to do with Mitt Romney. I have been really interested in the upcoming presidential election because I am going to have the opportunity to vote and think I should be educated on the candidates before placing that vote. All of these opinions will be pretty clear in my blog posts, so thanks for reading!