Layoffs in the Pentagon

President Bush plans to layoff workers in the Pentagon if he doesn't receive the funding he has requested for the war. He is demanding $196 billion extra funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush argues that this is hurting our chances of saving more American lives, while the democrats argue he should be supporting a plan to pull out the troops.

It seems to me this is an unfair and undemocratic way to accomplish his goals. He should not be threatening us to get what he wants, it should be supported by all with government power. Also, his plan so far hasn't been working, and I don't see how more money is going to help him succeed. If you want to read the full story, you can check it out here.

GOP youtube debate political cartoon

Donations from the graveyard

Top donations from deceased individuals

Below is the list of the top 30 recipients of political donations from individuals listed as deceased in federal campaign-finance records between 1999 and 2007.

Democratic National Committee
$224,516
Republican National Committee
$93,143
National Committee for an effective Congress
$73,200
LaRouche in 2004
$64,749
Green Party of the United States
$12,219
Oklahoma Leadership Council
$10,000
Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
$7,596
California Democratic Council
$5,000
Colorado Democratic Party
$5,000
Council For A Livable World
$5,000
Democratic State Committee Delaware
$5,000
North Carolina Republican Executive Committee
$5,000
Women's Campaign Fund
$6,014
Feinstein For Senate
$2,000
John Kerry For President, Inc.
$2,000
Lincoln Chafee U.S. Senate
$2,000
Nita Lowey For Congress
$2,000
Stenholm For Congress Committee
$2,000
Lydon LaRouche Political Action Committee
$1,850
Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, Inc.
$1,350
Bob Filner For Congress
$1,000
Chambliss For Congress
$1,000
Sailors' Political Fund (FKA) Sailors' Union Of The Pacific Political Fund
$1,000
Stevens For Congress
$1,000
Sue Kelly For Congress
$1,000
Texas Bankers Association-Bankers Political Action Committee
$1,000
Friends Of John Barrow
$900
Libertarian National Committee
$808
Family-PAC Federal
$750
People For English
$750
Source: USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by the non-partisan CQ MoneyLine.

It hadn't even occured to me that people would be donating money in thier wills to thier favorite political organization. According to CQ MoneyLine's data, deceased gave almost $ 96,000 in federal donations between January 1 and September 30. I just thought this was an interesting way to contribute. Currently, donations from the dead are acceptable as long as they follow the legal limits and thier intentions are clear. Although donations from the deceased are minuature compared to the overall donations major parties, such as the Democratic and Republican Parties, receive, there is a possibility that this trend could grow larger and be exploited.

Republican Debate

The Republican debate took place today. During the debate, Romney and Giuliani got into an intense clash about immigration. Giulani was accused of protecting immigrants in a "sanctuary city" when he was mayor of New York City. Giuliani defended himself by stating that he did his best to enforce immigration laws. He also accused Romney of having many "sanctuary cities" and a "sanctuary mansion" when he was governor of Massachusetts. Romney replied that he can't confront any person with a "funny accent" to check his citizenship.

All of the candidates were concentrated on attacking each other, which I think really puts them under pressure and helps voters decide which candidate is the best. If you didn't get to see the debate, you should check it out here and decide which candidate you support.

Annapolis Conference political cartoons

This reminded me of Noelle's comment on Carter's attempts for peace in the Mideast. I thought this cartoon was very appropriate in showing how many of our past presidents have tried to reach this unsuccessfully to reach this huge goal.

I was looking around and I found this blog http://hammeringsparksfromtheanvil.blogspot.com/. It just posted a ton of political cartoons regarding the Annapolis Conference and how the promise of peace just dosen't seem realistic at all. Check it out!

Venezuelan Referendum

In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez hopes to be reelected at the upcoming referendum. If he wins this referendum, he will be allowed to rule for as long as he likes, if he can win the elections, and will be granted dictatorial powers. He will also have the power to cease oil production, giving the United States a major problem since we receive some oil from them.

CHavez wants to turn the state into a socialist state, much like Cuba. Because he is anti-U.S., it he would like to prove that capitalism does not work. And he has gained support. Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua already support him.

I think that we need to be careful with him before he gets out of hand. It may seem overly cautious, but considering past incidences with leaders gaining power, I think it is reasonable to be careful of possible dictators. What do you think? If he wins will we have a major problem on our hands?

If you want to find out more information, try this article or this opinion article.

peace in the middle east?

Today in a national conference in Annapolis, Israeli and Palestinian leaders resolved to restart peace talks. President Bush also pledged to help the two nations achieve peace. Bush read from a pre approved text on the behalf of the two leaders which gave a vague out line for future plans of peace. However, this goal is already threaten with the thousands of Hamas supporters protesting against the Annapolis Conference. For more information go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/mideast_summit;_ylt=AmcH2sMJc4rnVLkgmLL7ENcUewgF .

Personally, it seems so depressing to see such anti-American rallies on the eve of a supposedly historic moment of peace negotiations. Even if Bush hopes to "devote himself to ending the six-decade conflict in the 14 months he has left in office", he barely even has the support of the American public. How can he muster up enough international respect to truly help these two nations gain peace?