Democrats

The Democratic Party has it's strengths and weaknesses. One of their strengths is their diversity. The writer of this article mentions this diversity. Utah for example, their Democratic delegation for the upcoming summer national convention. The writer of this article said;

"Look closely. You’ll see a couple dozen Utahns – black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, young and old, men and women, Hispanic and Anglo, Mormon and non-Mormon."

That is something I like about the Democratic Party, they are culturally diverse in their delegations. It helps getting a view from each different side and makes the decision making process a little more open minded to all of what is out there in the world that needs to be recognized when making decisions; it can benefit everyone.

Another strength of the Democratic Party is their stand on Gun Control. I like the fact that they want to "strengthen gun control to reduce violence." That is a good thing because once the control on guns is stronger, there will be a less chance of careless violence happening if it is harder for some people to buy guns; there are people who buy them illegally. But for the people who buy them at a gun shop, this is a good thing. This site said;

"We increased federal, state, and local gun crime prosecution by 22 percent since 1992. Now gun crime is down by 35 percent."

That is a good outcome of their want to strengthen gun control, and in my opinion this was, and is, one of their good strengths.

And yet, everyone has a weakness. The weakness of the Democratic Party was its "failure of the Democratic Congress to come to a real showdown with the White House over the war." The reason for the writer of the article to say that was because in 2004, when everything, the presidency, Congress and such were controlled by Republicans. The writer would have thought that the Democrats would have taken a step back and try to see what they need to do to make sure it didn't happen again, but they didn't; it happened again in 2006.

Republicans

The Republican Party has it's strengths and weaknesses, just as the Democratic Party does. A strength of the Republican Party is it's view on Education. I like their stand on promoting school choice and home-schooling. I think it is a good thing that they give the parents more control on their kid's education because some kids listen to their parents more than school authorities sometimes. And theirs also the fact that it gives the right whether or not the parent wants to home school their kid is good because a parent knows what's best for their child and the fact that they have that choice to make is good. Parents really appreciate that. I also like that they support "achievement is basis for access to college" because with the way the economy and the world is going, students need to continue on to college and get a higher education so that they can be safe when trying to find and maintain a job when it is time.

Another strength of the Republican Party is their view on Jobs. Two of their views are to "Recognize that people depend on land for livelihood" and that "Small business deserves better treatment from government." I agree that small businesses deserve better treatment because it is the small business that are family based and usually have the best to offer. It is sad to see a business that has been passed down for many generations being treated poorly and possibly getting their business taken away from them. They've worked hard to get that store and they should receive some respect. I also like their other statement where people depend on land for livelihood. Think about farmers. They make all their money off of their land and what they produce. They need to be thought about and remembered. It isn't easy for them and they do what they need to support themselves or a family, and they need to be recognized.

And then the Republican Party have their weaknesses. In my opinion, one of the Republican Party's weakness is their view on Crime, but most of all, that they support the death penalty. There have been many cases where people have been tried and sentenced to the death penalty and after they have already killed the convicted person, they have been proven innocent but it was already too late. The death penalty in my opinion is too risky to put someone's life on the line especially if later on they may end up being innocent all along, it just isn't fair.

Siding With The Democrats

When it comes to Health Care, I stand along side of the Democratic Party. I like their stand and their views when it comes to the issue of Health Care. These are their views:

• Make sure everyone has access to affordable health care. (Nov 2006)
• Bush’s Medicare Rx program helps companies more than seniors. (Jul 2004)
• Expand coverage and cut healthcare costs. (Jul 2004)
• Every American should have affordable health insurance. (Aug 2000)
• Add prescription drug benefit to Medicare. (Aug 2000)

I like the idea that every American should have access to affordable health care and health insurance. There are many Americans who need it and weren't able to receive it before. I also like the fact of expanding health care coverage and cutting the costs. It makes health care more affordable and giving health care a more wide range of being able to help Americans. I am in favor of health care and stand along side of the Democratic Party's views.

Community Service Project

Part I
The main thing I focused on when doing my community service was about poverty in America. But what I really was interested about the most was what poverty causes to the people in America. So my main focus was on those two topics, but the general idea was about poverty in America, because hunger is the outcome of a person living in poverty. People who don’t suffer from this have no idea how it feels to be deprived of food.

The most recent status about poverty in America that I found was a few statistics from the site “Feeding America” and they were, “In 2008, 39.8 million people (13.2 percent) were in poverty. In 2008, 8.1 (10.3% percent) million families were in poverty. In 2008, 22.1 million (11.7 percent) of people aged 18-64 were in poverty. In 2008, 14 million (19 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty. In 2008, 3.6 million (9.7 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.” All of these statistics are from 2008, but they are the most recent that I know about. All of these statistics are very high and pretty scary to think about; it’s a lot of people. People need to stand up and try to bring these percentages down.

The public is very supportive of this issue. Many Food Banks allow volunteers to help out in the warehouses and package food to be distributed to non-profit organizations to try and help this problem that many people face in America. If it weren’t for the many volunteers that the Food Bank gets, this message of helping these people in America suffering from poverty and hunger would go unnoticed. The San Francisco Food Bank even said, “Three hours is all it takes for you to feed a family. You’ll help put food on the table for people who need it every time you come into our warehouse.” Volunteers are the main drive for this issue to become even slightly better. When a person volunteers at the Food Bank, the project managers constantly remind the person volunteering how thankful they are for the person helping out, they really appreciate it.

There are some people that I know who are against the idea of putting so much money into programs that help people who are suffering from poverty because they think those people should have made something with their lives like everybody else. That’s easy for them to say, but I feel that for some people school was just not easy for them because of the background they grew up in. And it also could just be that because their parents weren’t educated and that didn’t help them when it came to school work.


Part II
There are many organizations that try and help people who are in need of good, like the non-profit organization called Glide. They are the only place in the Bay Area that serves 3 meals a day, 365 days a year; their Daily Free Meals Program. I gave some of my time volunteering there, and I must say it changed my outlook on the world. I am grateful for this organization because it gives a chance for homeless people suffering from hunger a chance to have a decent meal in their day. On Glide’s website’s homepage marked “About Glide,” it basically mentions their goal, it says, “Our mission is to create a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.” Many non-profit organizations are trying to make a difference with this issue to help reduce it, so maybe one day they can eventually end up solving it.

The Federal Government contributes to this issue by administering the WIC program, a program that helps low-income women who are pregnant or either have a child. Their mission is to "safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.” I find this program helpful because it gives the mothers a chance to be able to go to a grocery store and get food. They receive there vouchers that have certain foods on them that they are able to get. And when they take it to the front and present it to the cashier, they get those items for free; stuff like milk, peanut butter, cheese, and other stuff that can help the infant.

The Salvation Army is another good program out there that helps people in need. They help people with food and even shelter. What the Salvation Army does; "In this new century, The Salvation Army is serving more people in the USA than ever before. We are already seeing large increases in the number of Americans seeking the basic necessities of life - food, shelter, and warmth. More than 30 million people received help from The Salvation Army in 2008, but the magnitude of the mission facing The Salvation Army in communities throughout the United States remains great.” I think this is a helpful organization because it helps people with many things that they face because of poverty. They are an organization that is proud of what they do for their community and they sure do a lot; they have helped millions of people.

About.com had a section called US Liberal Politics and I found an article from a lady named Deborah White, she said, “In January 2001, President Bush created, via Executive Order, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Since then, Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives were established at five federal agencies…And in February 2004, the President issued an Executive Order earmarking an astonishing $3.7 billion to be doled out to faith-based and other organizations.” I think this was a good thing on Bush’s part because places like churches help out people who are suffering from poverty in America. He contributed a lot of money to faith-based organizations. This was one of the best things I’ve heard that he has done that was pretty meaningful.

My community service reflects some aspects of our study this year in some way when it comes to the Health Care Bill. It is going to help some people who are struggling and in need of some assistance. The people who are poor and are suffering from poverty will be able to get care now that there is universal help for everyone. It is nice to think about because the people who are in deep need will be helped.


Part III
In order for my issue to be resolved, or at least made better, I feel that more people in America should step in and try to make a difference. More people should volunteer some of their time even just at their local food bank or any other non-profit organization that one is able to give back to their community or actually make a difference in a person’s life. I think the government should contribute some incentives towards these people that are suffering. I think more places should open up and more churches should give time to helping these people out. We live in one of the richest countries in the world; I think we should eradicate hunger. I feel that the government should put more of the money that they have towards helping people who need it, not use it to benefit their lives, because they honestly don’t need it as much as the people suffering from poverty in America do.

A few other ways this issue can be resolved are little things that people of the community can do. They can make rallies to make money to donate to the non-profit organizations; car washes can be done too. Meetings can be arranged and people can even hold a blog chat to think of ways to give back to the community. But I honestly think the best way is to volunteer at any local non-profit organization.

I volunteered my time at the Contra Costa Food Bank, the San Francisco Food Bank, and my most memorable service, at Glide. I did all of my hours with my cousins because I wanted them to experience what I was doing. Volunteering at the Food Bank, even though it was for a serious issue in America, it was a more fun experience to do with family and friends. We worked together and also had a good time talking and laughing. It is a more bonding experience even though we were helping out for a major cause. That is why I think more people should volunteer at their local food bank, they will enjoy it. At the end of the day, the person volunteering finds out by their project leader how many pounds they packaged by the end of just their 3 hour shift, and it is nice to hear how much was packaged in so little of time. And the project leader lets them know where all that food they just packaged is going, and how it is going to make a difference in the people’s lives who are suffering from poverty and hunger.

Now volunteering at the Glide made a huge impact on me. It was a non-profit organization that serves 3 meals a day. Now they have the main room for everyone, and then they have the Coffee House upstairs that only serve to handicap people and families; they get double of everything. On pancake days, which ended up being the day I volunteered on, they don’t give seconds, but any other day they do. So it was really sad to see people try and get seconds even though they knew they couldn’t, but they tried to be sneaky about it. It was sad to see them try and fight to get seconds…it really got to me. Another part that got to me was seeing this dad bring in his two kids. It is really sad to see what people have to go through, but it also made me happy to see an organization like this do what it does, and it made me feel good about myself knowing I was a part of it and that I made a difference in a person’s day. One lady that I will never forget smiled when she first walked in, and when she walked out. When she first saw us, she said “Oh good morning how are you today, today is so wonderful. Are you all well?” She was just so nice. It was incredible to see that even though she is facing poverty and hunger, she was very nice. I am definitely going to volunteer more of my time there, but just because I want to out of pure want. The people who come in to get food and the project leaders were all so nice that it has inspired me to want to volunteer there some more. It felt like everyone was just one big huge family.

Throughout my paper I have noticed that this issue sometimes gets unnoticed because not many people are doing anything about it and trying to make a difference, thus this issue doesn’t get closer to becoming solved. More people need to step in and try to make a difference. Shifts at a local Food Bank are only 3 hours, and so is volunteering at Glide; only 3 hours of a persons life that could change another person’s entire day who is suffering from poverty. It is a very good feeling, and I know, I have done it. I am going to try and influence people to start volunteering for fun. I am going to take some of my friends over to Glide to volunteer because I want my friends to see what I saw. I want them to see what people who suffer from poverty go through yet how they handle it. They are so appreciative of their lives that they put a smile on even thought they are going through so much. It is very uplifting because it makes the person volunteering look at their life differently and appreciate it more because they see how they look at their lives. I think it is very inspiring because it totally changed the way I looked at mine. I complain a lot about my life but just volunteering 3 hours of my time to help others changed the way I look at my life. I have come to appreciate it more because the fact that even though they go through all that they go through, they still appreciate theirs and try to just continue on each day. I must say they are the most inspiring people I have ever met. And I am thankful to have helped them.

Addicted Parents Leave Kid for Dead

I think this family shouldn't be able to have another kid. I think they deserve the 5 year sentence they may get but I don't think that it is fair for the court to use the whole "they are addicted to games so we will use that in their favor" kind of thing. What they did was wrong addicted to games or not. No parent leaves their kids at home for more than 10 hourse unattended to play games. They have to consider their priorities first, their kid.

Identity Theft Costs A Lot

It is being said that Identity Theft isn't that big of an issue to focus on. Mainly that it isn't worth it because it costs to much to do and track down the thefts.

Some words that were said in the article that stood out to me:

"A report by the Justice Department Inspector General released Tuesday cites the wide-ranging costs and dangers of ID theft. Although the report has no new numbers, the financial losses are believed to be substantially higher than the $15.6 billion documented in 2005."

"The report says "the specific crime of identity theft is not a top FBI priority." However, the report adds that the FBI often addresses the issue through the Cyber Division's criminal intrusion program, which is a priority of the agency."

"Identity theft can also be a significant element of violent crimes, such as domestic abuse, and even terrorism, and a significant number of ID theft-related crimes originate overseas," the report said.

The first quote surprised me on how much it cost for ID Thefts. The second quote was kind of funny to me, they are basically contradicting themselves, saying that it isn't the FBI's top priority when what ID Theft cases are under are one of their top priorities. And the third quote stood out the most because it is scary to think of all the things that ID Theft lead up to.

San Francisco Food Bank

The first thing that stood out to me on the San Francisco Food Bank site was it's Hunger Facts:

"An estimated 49 million Americans are food insecure. Of those 49 million, almost 17 million are children and 5 million are seniors. Last year, over 37 million people used a Food Bank for emergency food assistance."

That is a lot of people. And it is sad to see what groups are affected more than others, or mainly just the fact that all of these groups of people are being affected by poverty and hunger this badly.

When I scrolled down on the page, it lists in bullet points the things they do providing for the people they serve. I think what they do is a great thing and I am glad places like these are around to help people in need. That is why I volunteer some of my time at the Contra Costa Food Bank; I like being a part of an organization like this.

Poverty in America Today

Poverty in America is such a big issue because it impacts the lives of many Americans. The site Poverty in America is all about this issue in America. It has information about what has been going on and a project someone can participate in to help.

Something in the site that stood out to me:

"According to our estimates in 2003, almost 25% of the nation's counties had low per-capita incomes below one half the national average or less, high unemployment, low labor force participation rates, and a high dependency on government transfer payments-all measures of economic distress."

That's a high percentage. That number seems to be increasing and citizens of the U.S. should step in and try to make a difference. The government could too. If nothing is done, that number will keep increasing and economic problems will plummet and just become more worse than they ever were.

Tossing Out Babies? Really?

In China, Jining Hospital Affiliated Medical College mortuary staff have been dumping fetuses and infants off at the Guangfu River.

The statement said:

"A total of 21 bodies were found near the Guangfu River."

I think this is pretty depressing. These staff members have been disciplined because of this. I can't believe any human being could do such a thing like this. A few of the staffers were fired and have been detained according to the law. These people deserve whatever they get to them because of this. I think this whole hospital should be checked out because if they do something like this, who knows what other sick things they are doing.

VW Volkswagen Punching Game

MIND BREAK!!!

I found this commercial to be hilarious! Where everyone hits and the situations are hilarious. And the best part, even Stevie Wonder plays! Check this out:

A Risk of Medical Marijuana

People who have a medical marijuana card may have a risk at losing their job. People who use marijuana to relieve their pain, when they go to work, they can't pass the drug test. So some people don't get high at work, but the employer may have a hard time believing that when they know that a person is able to get high legally and whenever he wants.

Casarias, 29, worked at Wal-Mart but was fired because he couldn't pass a drug test. He has a medical marijuana card, but never abused it to go to work high. He was upset about being fired, he said:

"I was angry they did this to me because I always tried my best," said Casias, who was employed at Wal-Mart for five years. He earned an Associate of the Year award in 2008. "I want my job back. I thought I was part of the Wal-Mart family."

I can see how employers worry about hiring someone who has a medical marijuana card and that he may come to work high, but they can always test. But I just don't think someone shouldn't be hired because of having that card.

ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods is a major company who owns many of the brands that we people of America Purchase, from Hunt's tomato ingredients to Wesson oil to even PAM cooking spray. This site contains many ways for people to check out healthier eating styles and even learn about the food a person consumes. ConAgra Foods though is a company who joined together with Feeding America to fight hunger in America.

The thing I like about this site is that it even helps someone manage a way to eat healthy even though they are on a low budget. It was said that people who usually don't have money are the more obese ones because they don't have the opportunity to spend their money on healthier and cheaper foods.

Gummy Bear

MIND BREAK!!!

This is one of my favorite little songs that I randomly stubled upon while looking around on YouTube. All the kids in the family dance when hearing this song, its very random, check it out:

Child Hunger Ends Here

The site Child Hunger Ends Here has to mainly do with, at the moment, 2 organizations, ConAgra Foods and Feeding America, joining together to fight hunger in America, especially when it comes to children. This site lets someone find a local foodbank near them to help out, and informs them about the problems that people in America face; try to make people more aware of what's going on around them in America.

Feeding America seems like a major part of the "Child Hunger Ends Here" movement because on that site they let people know about a neighborhood rally they are having, and how people are able to donate food to them.

Organizations like these help fight hunger. Many more companies should step in and try to make a difference just like these places are. If more and more organizations stepped in to do just a little something, more and more people in America who are facing hunger wouldn't be unnoticed for any longer.

Life 600 Feet Under

NASA discovered a new life...but 6oo feet under the Antarctic ice! While the crew had a camera looking down, they spotted the little brownish orange life form moving, and realized it was a new unknown creature that they just discovered. I think science is fascinating and the new things organizations find are all due to the equipment they have.

The article says:

"NASA scientists made a startling discovery – a swimming shrimp-like creature that could challenge the idea of where and how forms of life can survive."

I think this new discovery is fascinating and may give scientists a new outlook on the way things were made. Many possible outcomes may be benefited from this finding.

Innocent People Killed

These 2 people, Arthur Redelfs (left) and Lesley Enrique (right) were shot by a gang in Mexico on their way home from a party with their adopted kid in the backseat. Lesley was pregnant.

It was said:

"For unknown reasons, the gang followed the family car through the streets and riddled it with bullets, authorities said. When it was over, 35-year-old Enriquez and Redelfs, who was 34, were dead. Their orphaned daughter was unhurt but terrified in her car seat in back, authorities said."

These innocent people were killed for no reason. A few hours before this other people were shot the same way too. All because of these drug gangs. I feel that the only way to stop things like this from happening is to legalize pot. All these drugs that are in the U.S. are coming from Mexico and these drug gangs illegally anyways. If it's legal, these drug gangs would disappear because their business would no longer be needed. And if they disppear, so will these pointless killings and deaths of innocent people.

Poverty Causes Obesity

It used to be that people who have money were obese because they were able to buy whatever food they wanted, but now, people who face poverty are the ones who are more likely to become obese. And that is because they don't have enough money to buy the healthy foods they need to stay healthy, they only buy whatever their money can buy, and usually thats the cheap stuff, sweets.

Rush Limbaugh said something pretty interesting that this article mentioned:

"...food stamps provide for people to "buy Twinkies, Milk Duds, potato chips, six-packs of Bud, then head home to watch the NFL on one of two color TVs and turn off their cell phones, and that's poverty in the U.S."

I agree with this article, what he said was offensive and totally contradicts the truths about poverty. That isn't what it's about, it's about not having enough money to eat the healthy foods and the foods that are good for your body and those sweets and stuff are all what they can afford. It isn't a good thing, and that is why organizations need to spread out a little more and get their word out and try to do more things. Two organizations are joining together to make a difference. More should.

Organizations Joining Together

Organizations like ConAgra Foods and Feeding America are joining together to fight child hunger this Spring.

Their goal/what they are going to do:

"From March-May 2010, ConAgra Foods and Feeding America are working together to help end child hunger in communities all across the United States through the “Child Hunger Ends Here” promotion."

This is the kind of things that need to happen. Organizations like these two are good in this world because they are actually taking a step in trying to help out people in the U.S. who need it. These are both food organizations that help people out by giving them donated food because they are too poor to afford buying food, also because they are probably using the money they have to support themselves in the world, and there isn't enough for food.

Senate Killing Off Job Opportunities

The opportunity to have created more jobs for teenagers and help families financially didn't get passed in the Senate, there weren't enough votes. I don't get why it wouldn't be. About 2.6 million dollars could've went towards this movement to help in this issue. It would have created over 500,000 job opportunities for young teens to be able to get.

This quote in this article stood out to me the most:

"Does congress want people to work or not? How can Sen. Scott Brown, who spent a good portion of his campaign talking about job creation, vote against this proposed amendment?"

I think this is ridiculous. Senator Brown is basically contradicting himself. In my opinion this should've passed; I believe it was called the Emergency TANF. If this passed, there would be less statistics of unemployment, so I don't get why the Senate didn't pass this.

Old Spice For Men?

MIND BREAK!!!

I thought this commercial was one of the funniest ones that I've seen in a while. It's completely random, but that's what makes it great, check it out:

Teacher Cuts Cause Rallys

These graduates are outraged that some of their teachers have been layed off. In my opinion they are kind of over doing it though.

"He doesn't know us. He doesn't know the teachers. He doesn't know the students," said Nikko Calle, 21, a graduate of Central Falls High School in 2006. "I think it's a real outrage what's happening here."

Nearby, Ashley Delgado, 19, stood on the school's steps clutching a sign that read: "Dear Obama, I supported you, your causes, goals and beliefs. Why aren't you supporting mine?"

The thing about this that bothers me is that this is happening almost everywhere around the country. Their school isn't the only school who is having some teachers layed off. My school is losing some teachers too. Their school isn't any different. The economy is horrible and because of the budget cuts, teachers are being layed off. Like I said, this is happening everywhere.

Text Slang Speaking Grandma

MIND BREAK!!!

The grandma in this commercial is so hip with the new text slang its hilarious. Check this out:

Government Needs To Take Action Against Unemployment

Here is a little information from this site about unemployment:

"Nearly 15 million people are out of work -- 25.6 million if we count those who are working part-time because they can't find a full-time job or are too discouraged to go on looking. But there's no sense of urgency to create jobs coming from the White House or Congress."

"The Senate is set to vote on a $15 billion jobs bill that the the New York Times calls"so puny as to be meaningless."

I think the White House or Congress needs to more than what they are doing. According to the second quote above, the jobs bill isn't going to be doing much, its "meaningless." Unemployment is a big deal, especially in the U.S. It affects the lives of so many people. People can't find jobs because there aren't enough for everyone in this world. The government should step in and make more jobs, or create a project or organization that people can take part in.

Struggles in Connecticut

The impact of the health reform and the recession are taking a toll on the women in Connecticut, especially the ones who have kids.

Food Stamps barely cover a family's meal costs, if that. Yet poor women in Hartford, Connecticut are trading their food stamp benefits, at a discount, for cash because it's the only way they can get money for other necessities -- the gas bill, soap, shoes for the kids.

It is really sad to see what poverty can do to the lives of people in this world. These women have to trade in their only source of food to accomodate to their kids or other things to live. Food stamps aren't enough and we Americans should come up with an organization to help people in need like this. Or the government come up with some type of organization. The only idea I have in mind at the moment would be referring these people to seek help from their local Food Bank. People can go to the "Feeding America" site and see some more info and there is a link at the top where people can find their local food bank.

The Truth About King Tut

There have been many DNA testings and CT Scans on King Tut for 2 years, trying to discover the truths about his death. I find science fascinating and the fact that researchers have finally found the answer is amazing. Research and studies found:

"Egypt's most famous pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, was a frail boy who suffered
from a cleft palate and club foot. He died of complications from a broken leg
exacerbated by malaria and his parents were most likely brother and sister."

I find that kinda of disturbing that his parents may have been brother and sister, but the rest was interesting to find out. All of those things listed for the cause of his death all make sense. I love the power of scince and the new technology that helps find out information like this that researchers wouldn't have been able to discover hundreds of years ago.

President's Proposal of Health Care

At the health care section of The White House site, it talks about the President's attempt at the health reform. This has been a debate between the two houses for over a year now, and still nothing has happened. The President seems to have tried to push things forward by coming up with new ideas and putting them on the table to both houses, thus why he put together the Health Care Address. It was good that they had a discussion like that, but still nothing seemed to get done. It was plain back and forth of "Oh let's do this to the bill" to "Let's start this completely over" and back and forth. The address was called "a theater."

Stats of Poverty in America

Povery has always been major issues in America. In 2008, this image above shows many statistics about the intensity of poverty in the different areas of the U.S.

The site "Feeding America" has a list of statistics about the poverty in America in 2008:

• In 2008, 39.8 million people (13.2 percent) were in poverty.
• In 2008, 8.1 (10.3% percent) million families were in poverty.
• In 2008, 22.1 million (11.7 percent) of people aged 18-64 were in poverty.
• In 2008, 14 million (19 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
• In 2008, 3.6 million (9.7 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.

Obama's Health Care Address

Here is the video of Obama's Health Care Address:


I think that both the Senate and the House of Representatives should get together and just hang out and talk, like in the days of Ted Kennedy. Both sides were friends and would get together and chill, but talk about the issues going on. Things then got done faster and more efficiently because when it came to discussion time, they have already been talking about it and listening to each other's ideas. I think that our people in the Senate and the House now should do the same. Be friends and get together on their times off to talk and discuss things and just listen to what each other has to say in a civilized manner. But who knows if that would ever work.

Hunger in the U.S.

Hunger is the major cause from poverty in America. Over the years it has been becoming worse. There are many families who, because they have no money, lose their homes and don't have any food to feed their kids and the rest of their family.

The site "Food Research and Action Center" is a site that informs people about fighting hunger in America. For 2008, the site lists some bullet points on facts about the problems, issues, and statistics of the increase of poverty, and therefore, hunger.

• Hunger and Poverty:
  
• 14.1 million children, or 19 percent of all children under age 18, were poor – a larger percentage than any other age group. This was an increase from 2007, when 13.3 million children (18 percent) lived in poverty.

• 6.3 million (8.5 percent) of all children under 18 lived in families with incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty level – that’s an annual income of $11,000.

• 21.3 percent of related children under age six in families lived in poverty.

• 9.7 percent of all Americans 65 and over, or 3.7 million elderly, were poor. This was unchanged from the previous year.

• The poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites was 8.6 percent, 24.7 percent for blacks, 23.2 percent for Hispanics, and 11.8 percent for Asians.

• 46.3 million did not have health insurance, an increase from 45.7 million in 2007.

• Median income fell to $50,300, a drop of 3.6 percent from 2007.

These statistics are scary. People in our community and around the world need to step in and try to help out. There are many ways to help out, and one of them is to take any extra food that you don't want and donate it to your local Food Bank by going to the site "Feeding America" and at the top there is a tab, "Find a Food Bank" and find one in your area.

Hunger and Human Development

"Children in the United States have the highest poverty rate of all age groups." Isn't that sad to hear? That little children who were just born into this world and haven't done a thing yet, are the ones suffering the most?

The site "Bread for the World Institute" is a very factual site that has a lot of information about poverty and hunger in America. Like I said, infants are suffering the most, and here is some key bullet point facts one should know about this issue and how hunger and poverty is affecting infants, and even young adults:

"Hunger and Human Development" - Infants (12 months or younger) that did not receive WIC benefits because of access problems were more likely to be underweight, short, and perceived as having fair/poor health than were WIC recipients.

• In children aged 1-5, food insufficiency is associated with high prevalence of fair/poor health and iron deficiency, and with greater likelihood of experiencing stomachaches, headaches, and colds.
  
• In children aged 6-11, food insufficiency is associated with low arithmetic scores and the likelihood of repeating a grade, having seen a psychologist, and having had difficulty getting along with other children.
  
• In children aged 15-16, food insufficiency is associated with depression, having had thoughts of death, a desire to die, and having attempted suicide.

People need to step in and help. It is sad to see that infants and young adults face these problems because of hunger and poverty. People don't realize the affect is has on the younger generation. If this issue keeps on going and doesn't get solved, the younger generation won't be as successful in life as we were hoping for them to be.

Hunger Across America

The issue of hunger in American sometimes goes unnoticed. Well, I believe everyone knows about it, how there are many people in the world who suffer from poverty and don't have any money to go out and buy themselves some food, which in their case they face hunger.

The site "Feeding America" let's people now about the many problems in America associated with hunger. Here is a little bit of information people should know:

"Hunger 101" - "Right now, millions of Americans are struggling with hunger. We all know and are in contact with people affected by hunger, even though we might not be aware of it.

These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days. Most of us simply have no idea. It’s time to educate ourselves about America’s hunger problem."

People should be aware and "educate" themselves about this issue. It is a big deal. It may not be affecting you, but a lot of people in this world are suffering for something they couldn't even control themselves.

Gastric Bypass Surgery For Young Teens?

Young teens are becoming too obese for their age these days. Some are so bad that they are in the need of Gastric Bypass Surgery, this is depressing. The procedure they are going to recieve is the Lap Band Surgery, where they make your stomach smaller with an adjustable band around the stomach where one can change the size of their stomach depending on how much food they should intake. It is adjustable because it may take a few adjustments before knowing how tight or loose the band should be for the particular patient. I think this is really sad that young teens are in need of a surgery like this. This just goes to show that our youth aren't being fed with healthy foods and probably more with fatty foods, such as fast foods like McDonalds. Parents should see this as a warning for their own kids. Do they really want their kid to become so overweight that they are going to be in need of a gastric bypass surgery at that age? It is not worth it. Kids should be fed in a more healtheir way at their age specifically; it'll make a difference in their lives to come.

Attack of the Doritos!

MIND BREAK!!!

This was one of my favorite commercials from the 2010 Super Bowl 44 and I thought it was worth showing. It gave me a good laugh:

Poverty in America

Poverty has been a major issue in America, even today. Poverty can lead to hunger, malnutrition, and even infectious diseases. People around the world struggle from this depressing issue, and there are ways to help. Donating to nonprophit organizations are very charitable and helpful for the people in need, for example, your local food bank.

Poverty.com is a site where you can learn a lot about poverty and the effects that come from it. In this site, and Iwould like everyone who reads this to do this, you are able to print out a letter to send to your government regarding International Aid. Every letter sent out contributes to the 0.7% in International Aid. I am going to do this, and I hope you do too.

Here is a video of the effects of Poverty and what it does to the lives of Americans:

More Problems for the People in Haiti...

Haven't the people in Haiti suffered enough? Now they are dealing with more problems.."Second wave of misery brings diarrhea, infections and malnutrition." It sucks to see more people die from other things, they were just hit with the huge earthquake and lost many people, and now this. I can only hope American can step in and try to fight off these sicknesses and aid the people of Haiti with medication for the infections. Maybe the people in American can step in a little more and donate more food to help stop the malnutrition. Many people have donated a lot of money, and sent over a lot of things, but it just seems more things keep happening to them. I would want to spend some of my time there helping..but I have school. And I am hoping all of thise will clear up before I have time, because I don't want this struggle for the people in Haiti to last any longer.

The Purpose of the Contra Costa Food Bank

For my community service, I serve my time at my local Contra Costa Food Bank; they have a purpose:

Mission: "The mission of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is to alleviate hunger and provide an efficient, coordinated system for collecting and distributing food that reduces food waste and increases public awareness regarding hunger and food security issues in Contra Costa and Solano counties."

What We Do: "The Food Bank is a centralized warehouse that stores and distributes donated and purchased perishable and nonperishable food items. We distribute food directly to low-income people at community sites and make food available for other nonprofit organizations serving the ill, needy and infants."

I want to be a part of this mission. There are many people out there in the world who have lost their jobs, especially in this economy, and no longer have any incoming money to purchase food to eat. Food Banks step in and help out those people by giving them food. I want to help people. Knowing that what I do can make a difference in someones life just makes my day.

It can be sad because some people are embarrassed to go to Food Banks and get food. They shouldn't be. They are there to help people, that is their job. I would love to help distribute the food, to see the emotion on the persons face that I have helped, but packaging everything is just as good. I know that what I am doing is helping change the lives of other people.

Medical Marijuana?

Marijuana may start being used for medical purposes, "Medical Marijuana." I sort of feel that this may be a bad idea. I mean I know there are people out there who actually need it medically for their pains and stuff, but I just know there are going to be a lot of people who say they need marijuana for issues just to get high all the time. If this becomes legal, it is going to be abused. I feel like there will be a lot more cases where people need "medical marijuana," more cases than before, but I feel for the wrong reasons.

The Remains of A Lottery Winner

The remains of a human being found in Florida were to have said to have belonged to this man, Abraham Shakespeare. He was a winner of a lottery ticket, which made him to be a millionaire. I think it is sad that someone killed him just for his money, and how the Park County Sherrif said:

"When their investigation began, they had hoped to find Shakespeare alive "and he truly had just wanted to hide from those who were asking him for money."

I can't believe someone could kill this man just for his money, are they really that desperate?? Killing someone for money is so ridiculous, it is horrible. A life for money, because he won the lottery ticket? That is sad. I hope they find the man and send him to jail with no chance of parole.

Raising Money For Haiti..With Music

In Oakland, soul musicians will be performing to raise money for Haiti. Many musicians are hoping to raise $100,000 and maybe even more. I think that it is great that many people are giving money and trying to help out the people in Haiti. I was actually surprised that this many people have helped out the people in Haiti, I never really expected it to be this successful, but I am truly glad. Those poor innocent people lost many family members, or have to deal with their own injuries, and it's nice to see Americans helping out in many ways they can. And it's even nice to see movie stars go over there and spend some time helping out over in Haiti, or just donating some money. I hope more and more people keep helping.

My Community Service

For my community service that I am going to start doing, I am going to be spending my time at the Contra Costa Food Bank in Concord. I want to help sort out cans and put them in boxes for distributing. I have spent many hours here before and loved it, I always had a good time, even just helping out without getting paid.

Salvation Army Receives Fake Checks for the Holidays? Really??

I guess for the holidays many people decided to donate fake money, a.k.a "checks," and put them in those little red containers. Now because inconsiderate people decided to do that, the Salvation Charities cashed the checks and went out and bought stuff for the holidays, later finding out that those checks have bounced. Now they were short of the amount of gifts and stuff to donate than they expected. Guys, it's the holidays! If someone is going to donate money that isn't going to help, why bother donating at all?