So, if you couldn't tell already by many of my posts, I am a huge supporter of our troops and the terrorist attacks of 9/11 really got under my skin. So for my music that relates to politics I've chosen two songs that have to do with the troops. I think most people know these songs or at least Toby Keith's. Hope you enjoy them!
Toby Keith "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (the Angry American)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNrdmjcNTc
Darryl Worley "Have you Forgotten"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6yLQRF-cEU
Toby Keith's song was written right after the 9/11 attacks and has been played repeatedly to rally the troops and millions of Americans. It exudes the pain and anger that was felt on September 11th.
Darryl Worley's song was written some years later. He, like many Americans, felt like we were forgetting why we were in Afghanistan in the first place. Neither song is about Iraq, both are about the terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan that followed. Darryl Worley is trying to express that even if you don't agree with the war in Iraq, we are fighting in Afghanistan because terrorists killed our people nine years ago, terrorists that reside within Afghanistan. Have we gotten so caught up in our anger over Iraq that we've forgotten the almost three thousand lives stolen from us that day? I would say most people have.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Heroes
Who was your hero growing up? Your mom? Your dad? Your favorite ball player or actor or singer? Your grandparents? We all have heroes in our lives. Sometimes they are public figures like ballplayers or actors or singers, but a lot of times people will answer that question by saying their parents, either one or both. What do you do to honor your heroes? Tell them you love them and appreciate them (your parents), write them and tell them? Well, there are heroes all around the world, CNN decided to honor some of those heroes this week. The people honored are people just like you and me who have a desire and a passion for helping people. In the program CNN honors 10 people and then picks one of the Hero of the Year.
This year a woman named Anuradha Koirala was picked as Hero of the Year. Why you may be asking, what did this women with a name I can't quite pronounce do to deserve this award? Well, since 1993 she has rescued over 12,000 young girls and women from the sex trafficking and slave trade. Impressed yet? Yeah I was too. Koirala and her team patrol the Indian-Nepal boarder trying to stop this horrendous act from happening. they have been very successful, however, much more needs to be done. Sex trafficking and the slave trade is very much alive despite what many people think. Many many people think that slavery was abolished years ago, but it's not true, not for a second. Atlanta is actually one of the top places in the U.S. for sex trafficking. Scary huh? More like terrifying. Thanks to people like Koirala thousands of young girls and women have found sanctuary and hope for a normal life.
The other nine heroes were:
Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega for building a hospital down in Mexico
Susan Burton for opening a rehabilitation program for female addicts in California
Linda Fondren for her weight-loss program in Mississippi
Narayanan Krishnan for his non-profit organization that feeds India's homeless
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow for his program that feeds more than 400,000 children around the world
Harmon Parker for building footbridges in Kenya over rivers
Aki Ra for clearing land mines in his native Cambodia
Evans Wandongo for helping to replace kerosene and firelight in Kenya with solar power lanterns
Dan Wallrath for building homes, mortgage free, for returning injured veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan
This year a woman named Anuradha Koirala was picked as Hero of the Year. Why you may be asking, what did this women with a name I can't quite pronounce do to deserve this award? Well, since 1993 she has rescued over 12,000 young girls and women from the sex trafficking and slave trade. Impressed yet? Yeah I was too. Koirala and her team patrol the Indian-Nepal boarder trying to stop this horrendous act from happening. they have been very successful, however, much more needs to be done. Sex trafficking and the slave trade is very much alive despite what many people think. Many many people think that slavery was abolished years ago, but it's not true, not for a second. Atlanta is actually one of the top places in the U.S. for sex trafficking. Scary huh? More like terrifying. Thanks to people like Koirala thousands of young girls and women have found sanctuary and hope for a normal life.
The other nine heroes were:
Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega for building a hospital down in Mexico
Susan Burton for opening a rehabilitation program for female addicts in California
Linda Fondren for her weight-loss program in Mississippi
Narayanan Krishnan for his non-profit organization that feeds India's homeless
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow for his program that feeds more than 400,000 children around the world
Harmon Parker for building footbridges in Kenya over rivers
Aki Ra for clearing land mines in his native Cambodia
Evans Wandongo for helping to replace kerosene and firelight in Kenya with solar power lanterns
Dan Wallrath for building homes, mortgage free, for returning injured veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Recently a British soldier was killed in Afghanistan bringing the total for British loses to 344 in the past nine years. The soldier died during an ambush attack the news reported. The British have been on America's side since the beginning of this war. They are only second to America in the number of loses they have suffered since 2001. They are scheduled to stay in Afghanistan till 2015. Is it right for a country that had no reason, except for the UN Charter, to stay there that long when other NATO countries have already pulled out or have plans to be out very soon? Their choice. But it is interesting to look at the history of America and Britain.
In the not too distant past England owned America, as we all know, until we decided we wanted to be free. The ensuing bloody war called the American Revolution took place as we fought, for the first time united, for our freedom that we so dearly valued and continue to value today. We won, obviously, and built up our nation over the next couple hundred years, not without our problems, and eventually become trading partners with England. It's kind of ironic to me since they had once owned us. It gets even more ironic when you think about our relationship with England today. England is our closest ally and friend. Can't say the same about the relationship in 1764. We've come a long way since then. So is our sense of duty to one another stemming from our history together? Maybe. Many people's ancestors are from England. The relationship that the two countries have had has been strenuous at times, but at other times solid as a rock. As they have been there for us, we will always be there for them too. England decided nine years ago to uphold a Charter they signed and have since voluntarily decided to stay and help American forces fight a battle that was never theirs. Because of their relationship with us they have fallen victim to their own terrorist attacks. That's a sacrifice. Britain is not the only country that has sacrificed for us, but they are the country that has been for there for us significantly.
In the not too distant past England owned America, as we all know, until we decided we wanted to be free. The ensuing bloody war called the American Revolution took place as we fought, for the first time united, for our freedom that we so dearly valued and continue to value today. We won, obviously, and built up our nation over the next couple hundred years, not without our problems, and eventually become trading partners with England. It's kind of ironic to me since they had once owned us. It gets even more ironic when you think about our relationship with England today. England is our closest ally and friend. Can't say the same about the relationship in 1764. We've come a long way since then. So is our sense of duty to one another stemming from our history together? Maybe. Many people's ancestors are from England. The relationship that the two countries have had has been strenuous at times, but at other times solid as a rock. As they have been there for us, we will always be there for them too. England decided nine years ago to uphold a Charter they signed and have since voluntarily decided to stay and help American forces fight a battle that was never theirs. Because of their relationship with us they have fallen victim to their own terrorist attacks. That's a sacrifice. Britain is not the only country that has sacrificed for us, but they are the country that has been for there for us significantly.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Pirates!! AARGH!!!!
We all see the videos on the news of the unfortunate people begging for their lives as several men surround them with guns. We've seen these kinds of videos from terrorist groups around the world and we feel bad for the people in them, as we secretly say to ourselves, gosh I'm happy that's not me, that must suck, but then we move on and forget that these people are going through hell as prisoners. Wouldn't you want someone to care about whether you lived or died if you were captured like that? I would!!
Here in America when we think of a terrorist what do we automatically think of? Let's not lie, Middle Eastern. Cause to us we see the terrorists from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia (not so much anymore), Yemen, Oman, etc. as the bad guys cause terrorists from that region of the world are the ones who attacked us on 9/11 and are the ones we continue to fight today. However, the terrorists from that region of the world are only a small portion of the terrorists that are in our world. Another group of terrorists, that we hear about but not too often, are pirates off the coast of east Africa. Now, I say pirate, you say? Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean. But that is not what the pirates off the coast of Africa are like. These pirates mostly come from Somalia. Why? Because Somalia doesn't have laws against them. These terrorists are vicious and ruthless and if they feel like it will flat out kill you for no reason. Sound like Johnny Depp's character? umm...no! Everyone was on Jack Sparrow's side, we wanted him to get away. But the Somalian pirates, not so much. They need to be taken care of. They have been causing terror along the east African coast for some years now. Efforts have been made to try and stop them, but they aren't exactly easy to catch and it helps to have all the participating governments on the same page. Until Somalia decides that it might actually be a good idea to stop these pirates not much is going to succeed unfortunately.
Now, you're probably wondering how this topic came up. Well, I read a story on CNN that said a couple who was captured a little over a year ago by these pirates was recently released and allowed to go home to England. This is a rare occurrence. Soon after there capture the husband was forced to make a video pleading for his life and for the British government to pay a ransom that the pirates requested. However, like the American government the British government does not negotiate with terrorists. Smart idea? Yeah, I'd say so. It comes with a price sometimes, but I understand why governments say that.
So what's a solution to this problem so that no more people have to go through what this English couple went through? Well, first we need to get Somalia on board which may be a little difficult but definitely worth the effort.
Here in America when we think of a terrorist what do we automatically think of? Let's not lie, Middle Eastern. Cause to us we see the terrorists from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia (not so much anymore), Yemen, Oman, etc. as the bad guys cause terrorists from that region of the world are the ones who attacked us on 9/11 and are the ones we continue to fight today. However, the terrorists from that region of the world are only a small portion of the terrorists that are in our world. Another group of terrorists, that we hear about but not too often, are pirates off the coast of east Africa. Now, I say pirate, you say? Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean. But that is not what the pirates off the coast of Africa are like. These pirates mostly come from Somalia. Why? Because Somalia doesn't have laws against them. These terrorists are vicious and ruthless and if they feel like it will flat out kill you for no reason. Sound like Johnny Depp's character? umm...no! Everyone was on Jack Sparrow's side, we wanted him to get away. But the Somalian pirates, not so much. They need to be taken care of. They have been causing terror along the east African coast for some years now. Efforts have been made to try and stop them, but they aren't exactly easy to catch and it helps to have all the participating governments on the same page. Until Somalia decides that it might actually be a good idea to stop these pirates not much is going to succeed unfortunately.
Now, you're probably wondering how this topic came up. Well, I read a story on CNN that said a couple who was captured a little over a year ago by these pirates was recently released and allowed to go home to England. This is a rare occurrence. Soon after there capture the husband was forced to make a video pleading for his life and for the British government to pay a ransom that the pirates requested. However, like the American government the British government does not negotiate with terrorists. Smart idea? Yeah, I'd say so. It comes with a price sometimes, but I understand why governments say that.
So what's a solution to this problem so that no more people have to go through what this English couple went through? Well, first we need to get Somalia on board which may be a little difficult but definitely worth the effort.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Decision Day!!!
Yesterday was THE day. The day when America let her voice be heard. And what did she say? She said that republicans are stepping it up and the democrats better start to if they want to succeed in 2012. Republicans took the House and barely lost the Senate by a couple of seats. So now we have a split Congress, republicans have a lot more power, and a President who is democrat. Makes for an interesting situation, doesn't it?
Georgia of course went Republican. Was that really a surprise to anyone? I mean some people were still hoping real hard that Barnes would win, but despite some controversy most people knew that Deal would win, and he did. There are always those states that will always be democrat or republican. For example, Massachusetts will always be majority democratic state, Georgia will always be a majority republican state. It's just how it is sometimes. i think it would take something drastic to switch up these kinds of states. There are always those swing states though that you never know which way they might go, which was evident from the election that just took place. It really wasn't a surprise to anyone though that the republicans took the House. As many political analysts predicted the democrats kept the Senate. The political analysts thought that the democrats would hold onto the Senate but just by a few seats, as they did.
So what happens now? The republicans have a lot of power now. Will Obama be a lame duck? Will he be able to get anything threw the Congress? Who knows, we'll have to wait and see what happens over the next two years, but one things is for sure, it should be VERY interesting to see what does happen.
Georgia of course went Republican. Was that really a surprise to anyone? I mean some people were still hoping real hard that Barnes would win, but despite some controversy most people knew that Deal would win, and he did. There are always those states that will always be democrat or republican. For example, Massachusetts will always be majority democratic state, Georgia will always be a majority republican state. It's just how it is sometimes. i think it would take something drastic to switch up these kinds of states. There are always those swing states though that you never know which way they might go, which was evident from the election that just took place. It really wasn't a surprise to anyone though that the republicans took the House. As many political analysts predicted the democrats kept the Senate. The political analysts thought that the democrats would hold onto the Senate but just by a few seats, as they did.
So what happens now? The republicans have a lot of power now. Will Obama be a lame duck? Will he be able to get anything threw the Congress? Who knows, we'll have to wait and see what happens over the next two years, but one things is for sure, it should be VERY interesting to see what does happen.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
One Week!!
One week from today we find out who wins the elections! I don't know about you, but I'm so ready for everything to be over already. Every other commercial is by one party or the other bashing their competitor. These commercials and ads have been running for a while now as the country prepares for what could be history. We sit on edge wondering, are the democrats going to hold onto both the Senate and the House, are the republicans going to take both the Senate and the House, or will they split??? Here is Georgia we're wondering who will win the Governor's race, Deal or Barnes??? Will people actually go out and vote???
Who knows, but I can say that I will be so excited when it's all over. I know I know, it's weird that I'm a political science major and i can't wait for this all to be over, it's not because I really want to know who's going to win, I do care, but I'm ready for it to be over because I'm tired of the bashing. It's like geeze, if you want to go into politics then you better know how to throw a punch and take one too cause it's getting brutal in these election races.
Many people are speculating that the country is upset at how Obama has handled the administration so far and think that the Congress may flip. Well, if that happens, we'll have a democratic President and a republican Congress. I wonder how well that would work (insert sarcasm). Let's just say it is possible that everything would work out, but let's be honest with ourselves, it probably wouldn't work too well. Would Obama be a lame duck for the last two years of his administration? Maybe, maybe not, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but until we find out next week, can we PLEASE lay off the political bashing. By bashing your opponent it does not make me like you any better, if fact it does the opposite. I do not care what you think of your opponent, we all know you don't like each other anyways no need to publicize, but I DO care about your own policies and how you handled situations. So, political leaders, let's try focusing on how you yourself perform and what you yourself believe in for a change. Maybe then people would actually go out and vote. Why? Because they might actually be more well informed about their candidates, shocker I know. Can we give it a try please, just once.
Who knows, but I can say that I will be so excited when it's all over. I know I know, it's weird that I'm a political science major and i can't wait for this all to be over, it's not because I really want to know who's going to win, I do care, but I'm ready for it to be over because I'm tired of the bashing. It's like geeze, if you want to go into politics then you better know how to throw a punch and take one too cause it's getting brutal in these election races.
Many people are speculating that the country is upset at how Obama has handled the administration so far and think that the Congress may flip. Well, if that happens, we'll have a democratic President and a republican Congress. I wonder how well that would work (insert sarcasm). Let's just say it is possible that everything would work out, but let's be honest with ourselves, it probably wouldn't work too well. Would Obama be a lame duck for the last two years of his administration? Maybe, maybe not, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but until we find out next week, can we PLEASE lay off the political bashing. By bashing your opponent it does not make me like you any better, if fact it does the opposite. I do not care what you think of your opponent, we all know you don't like each other anyways no need to publicize, but I DO care about your own policies and how you handled situations. So, political leaders, let's try focusing on how you yourself perform and what you yourself believe in for a change. Maybe then people would actually go out and vote. Why? Because they might actually be more well informed about their candidates, shocker I know. Can we give it a try please, just once.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Haiti just can't catch a break
It has been reported over the past couple of days that Haiti is experiencing a cholera outbreak. This poor, little country whom back in January experienced one of the worst earthquakes, just can't catch a break. Haiti was destroyed by the earthquake back in January, thousands of people died and many more were injured, millions were put out of their homes, because well, there was nothing left of their homes. Thousands dead, millions displaced, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, what are they to do? With billions in international aid and aid workers flocking into the country, Haiti began the process of rebuilding and trying to organize the country once again. The country is still in shambles, however. Millions are still displaced, and now, there is an outbreak of cholera.
Cholera can be easily cured and is extremely preventable. Cholera is a bacteria and can spread through contaminated food or water. Basically, if the people of Haiti had clean drinking water this could be prevented. The news in Haiti has reported that due to the extreme rains recently the Artibonite River has flooded and since this river is the main sewage drainage for the country the sewage spread. Cholera is said to cause diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. The CDC reports that once an outbreak of cholera starts it is most likely spread through the feces of the people who already have the disease. This occurs because many countries were cholera is prevalent are poorer countries that do not have good clean water sources. So if someone who has cholera goes the bathroom upstream from where someone who doesn't have cholera gets their drinking water, then the person downstream is most likely to get the disease. Cholera can spread very quickly and if not treated can be fatal. So far, in Haiti, 208 people have died. Kits to help decontaminate the water have been and continue to be distributed throughout the country. Workers are also trying to help prevent and stop the spread of the cholera outbreak any further.
When Haiti first got hit by the devastating earthquake back in January people were very anxious to help and aid flooded in; now as like with many natural disasters people have moved on and forgotten about the devastation that continues in Haiti. It's harder for people who don't live there and go through what these people are going through to remember what happened because we aren't as affected. Now it's not an excuse to stop helping, but it is the truth. Since we don't live it every day we don't think about it every day.
Cholera can be easily cured and is extremely preventable. Cholera is a bacteria and can spread through contaminated food or water. Basically, if the people of Haiti had clean drinking water this could be prevented. The news in Haiti has reported that due to the extreme rains recently the Artibonite River has flooded and since this river is the main sewage drainage for the country the sewage spread. Cholera is said to cause diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. The CDC reports that once an outbreak of cholera starts it is most likely spread through the feces of the people who already have the disease. This occurs because many countries were cholera is prevalent are poorer countries that do not have good clean water sources. So if someone who has cholera goes the bathroom upstream from where someone who doesn't have cholera gets their drinking water, then the person downstream is most likely to get the disease. Cholera can spread very quickly and if not treated can be fatal. So far, in Haiti, 208 people have died. Kits to help decontaminate the water have been and continue to be distributed throughout the country. Workers are also trying to help prevent and stop the spread of the cholera outbreak any further.
When Haiti first got hit by the devastating earthquake back in January people were very anxious to help and aid flooded in; now as like with many natural disasters people have moved on and forgotten about the devastation that continues in Haiti. It's harder for people who don't live there and go through what these people are going through to remember what happened because we aren't as affected. Now it's not an excuse to stop helping, but it is the truth. Since we don't live it every day we don't think about it every day.
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