A 'should've been' perfect game

last night could have been another historic moment in baseball history but no the ump blew the call at first called a person safe when he was clearlly out. a posible perfect game for detroit was gone with one bad call that was gone. only 22 pitchers in the history of baseball have pitched a perfect game the indians caught a break by not having to bear the shame of not getting one hit or walk or hit batter through the whole game.

i feel that the ump that called that play needs to get glasses and diserves to get fired for the missed call. it would have been different in any other situation not on the LAST play of a game where it could have been a perfect game for a young pitcher. all and all i think people are still just people and are bound to make mistakes but when you are payed to make close calls like that and you mess one up then they diserve the can.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/03/pearlman.galarraga.baseball/index.html?hpt=C2

BP still hard at work to fix oil spill

Once again Bp is in the head line news and once again the problem is not solved and once again more aquatic life has to die because of human mistakes. Bp says that they are going to fix this proble yet but they say that every week and yet every week the oil is still spreading further. they did finally get the leak stopped but now their next task is to clean up all of the oil that has spilled into the ocean and that could take weeks monts maybe even years to clean up compleatly.
i think that people should not give any support to the Bp oil company right now to send them a little understanding tat the american people do not want this kind of thing to be happening ever again and to let it be a message to all of the other oil companies too. i dont feel that the government needs to intervene into this situation as long as the american people all come together and make sure that all of the oil companies know whats up.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/03/gulf.oil.spill/index.html?hpt=Sbin

13 year old breaks Everest record

On Saturday, May 21, 2010, an American boy broke the record for the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. Jordan Romero is 13-years-old from Big Bear, California. The trip up the mountain was tracked by a GPS as her climbed up the 29,028 feet (8,847 meters) above sea level. Before Jordan broke the record, the youngest person was a 16-year-old boy named Temba Tsheri of Nepal. Jordan started his journey up the mountain on the Chinese side because Nepal denied him permission on age grounds. Jordan wants to continue climbing and become a motivational speaker to get obese kids outside and exercising. Jordan has now climbed 6 out of 7 of the Seven Summits. The final summit he has to climb is in Antarctica and he plans to climb Vinson Massif in December.

I'm glad that he broke the record for the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. I believe that if Jordan keeps up with climbing and becomes a motivational speaker, that he can help American children get healthy. I believe that if kids hear the importance of exercise from other kids and not just adults, they'll be more willing to exercise. I also believe that he can get the message through to kids not to give up and just to go for your dreams. I believe that Jordan will be a very motivational kid and will always stay active. I believe that if other kids what he has accomplished, they will feel that they can accomplish what they set their minds to. I could see Jordan becoming a motivational speaker for his career when he's older. I also believe that Jordan will break more records. I believe that he can become the youngest person to climb the most mountains or the Seven Summits. I believe that Jordan is sending a great message to people by his actions about the importance of being outdoors and getting exercise.

Read more at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/22/teen.mount.everest/index.html

Torpedo fired at South Korea from North Korea?

In March a South Korean Ship was hit by a torpedo. The blast killed the 46 sailors that were onboard the ship. South Korea blamed North Korea for the ordeal. But then North Korea denied it and said that South Korea is now tampering with the evidence of the ship. The 1,200 ton corvette sank after a mysterious explosion tore it into half near disputed waters off North Korea on March 26. "The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine," said Dr Yoon Duk-yong, co-chair of a military group formed to investigate the incident. Some submarines set off from North Korea naval base three days before the attack. People believe that one of the "salmon" colored submarine (equipped with nightvision) was the one who attacked the South Korean Ship. The White House backed the report, saying it "points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that North Korea was responsible for the attack."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/south.korea.sunken.ship/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Gulf spill size issue: How much and does it matter?

As the massive oil spill continues on in the Gulf of Mexico, people are wondering just how much the size of the spill affects how great of damage there is in the end. I personally think that the greater the spill, the greater the damage because as it keeps spewing out it spreads farther and farther which makes it a greater area to clean up. Before the video from BP was released, people thought that 5000 barrels a day were spilling out but now experts think that it could be 2 million gallons each day or even more. The government says that it has the right equipment to deal with the size of the spill and even a greater one. I don't think it really matters if we have the equipment to clean it up because its going to cause horrendous damage no matter what and already has so basically it doesn't even matter any more. BP has a major problem right now with this spill and they should be completely responsible for its clean up and costs. I don't even see the need of the governments help because this was BP's fault and only their fault. I find it absolutely ridiculous that nothing can be done quicker to slow or stop this spill. Its been weeks now and still its gushing out like crazy. Something needs to be done very soon and we as citizens better not be affected by this because we had no impact on it at all.

Whale freed from fishing net has died

On Monday, May 10th a whale was spotted in a shallow harbor at Dana Point near Los Angeles, California. Two days later a disentanglement team from Sea World caught the whale and removed commercial fishing nets and ropes from the whale. The whale appeared to head back out to sea but apparently died later.

The report says that this is the 10th gray whale to die just this season and I find that awful. I think that something needs to be done to slow down the rate of whales that are dying, especially if it is being caused to due fishing nets or human activity and such. That is just completely awful that humans are causing great and huge animals like that to be dying. I know that the fishermen can't do too much with their nets because they can't control where the fish are but I still think something needs to change so that more whales are not being harmed and killed.

National Day of Prayer

A federal judge declared the National day of Prayer law unconstitutional last month, but the Justice Department is appealing the case on behalf of the White House. People feel it violates the ban on gov. and religion. "The lawsuit against the Obama administration was brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group based in Madison, Wisconsin."I call upon the citizens of our nation to pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us," Obama said in his official proclamation."

This is sad that someone would try to go to this much trouble to take away a law like this that doesnt even hurt anyone its a prayer day for all religions not just the christians. Therefor it shouldnt matter and the people who care and are bothered by this should just suck it up and deal with it since it is only one day of the year and not a big problem.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/06/national.prayer.day/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Issue #2 - Boosting the Minimum

The minimum wage has always seemed to get some serious attention about how it should be increased. Raising the minimum wage would do a great deal of good for the poverty problem in this country. It would drastically raise the take-home pay of millions of Americans and would therefore get many people out of poverty. Right now the minimum wage is not enough to live above the poverty line so it needs to be increased. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will also give some assistance which will give more help in raising people out of poverty. By raising the wage it will especially help single mothers who are at the highest risk of being in poverty. Raising the minimum wage would also help out the economy because more people will be better off and will be spending more money. Some people, though, don't believe the increase will be a complete good thing because it only really affects a small group of people and it will take away tax cuts from the wealthy.

Personally I really think the minimum wage needs to be increased. President Obama even has thoughts of a $9.50 minimum wage. There is a fair amount of poverty in this country and i know that it is not possible to afford the basic necessities off just minimum wage. With more and more people making money, more will be spent and will therefore boost the economy even more. The people that are against it shouldn't even have say in it because they don't know what its like to have to live off such a low wage. This increase is very much needed and would be a great thing all around.

Issue #1 - All Things Being Unequal

Issue #3 - Putting Welfare to Work

World Trade Center Steel Makes Way Home to PA.

The steel that once made up the World Trade Center towers was recently moved back to the Pennsylvania city of Coatesville, where they were originally made. It took 28 flatbed trucks, which stretched a mile long, to carry the steel back. Fire trucks were also involved in this large procession as they flashed their lights for hundreds of onlookers to see. One resident says that he is happy to take them in but says that they certainly did not want them back. Officials are saying that they hope to use the steel for a centerpiece at the industrial history museum.

The bringing back of the steel beams is a very interesting thing to do with them rather than just get rid of them or let them sit. It seems like a very good idea to use them to construct some sort of special display in the museum. It will be a very good commemorative piece of construction that have a ton of meaning to everyone in this country and I'm sure it will attract many people. I, however, agree with the resident who says he did not want the steel back. I find it kind of pointless to take the time and money to return them to their original city when its only steel. I can see the significance of the steel and such but still don't see the need to completely move them. The moving clearly had no harm and it will definitely turn out to be very interesting and have a ton of meaning but the same could have come out of it without the hassel of moving all that steel.

Read the article at: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wirestory?id=10379587&page=2

Bad weather halts South Korean search for sailors

1,200-ton patrol ship was on patrol when it sank Friday at 9:45 pm. No one knows why the ship sank, so it is still under investigation. There were 104 sailors on board and 58 of those sailors have been rescued. The search for the 46 missing sailors continues in very cold temperatures and dangerous waters. It is being suspected based upon the location of the ship sinking that North Korea my have played some role in the sinking. But officials are down playing the incident and don't want to jump to conclusions.

North and South Korea are still enemies and I think that something like this is just what either of them needs to fight the other. They need a reason and they will find one. Even if this sinking was a complete accident people in the back of their mind are still probably thinking that is was North Korea trying to sabotage them. They need to play it safe and make sure this situation doesn't turn into something bigger.

Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/south.korea.missing.sailors/index.html?iref=allsearch

Health bill a huge victory for young adults

The new health care bill was a huge debate in our country for some time. Now that it is passed, it is turning out to be a very good thing for kids around my age. This article explains why it is helping us young adults out. It says it will give us much more coverage than before because we were not covered very well due to our low income but now that is changed and will be much better. It also says that its going to be a huge help for us on our student loans and college expenses. The money saved from this law in the college area will be put to a grant and will help even more with college expenses.

Personally, I did not think this bill was need and I didn't back it up. I thought it was kind of a waste of our taxpayers money. Now that it is passed, though, I am happy with the benefits and changes that are happening that will favor me. I especially enjoy the idea of the help for college students. The fact that kids can stay on their parents' insurance is also very nice because then they will not have to worry about that extra cost while they are going through college and paying for it after. All these things will really help out during those expensive college years and will turn out to be a pretty good thing I suppose but I still dont believe that it should have been passed in the first place.

For more information visit: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/23/williams.healthcare.young/index.html?iref=storysearch

2 wolves shot; tests to determine whether they killed woman

A few days ago Candice Berner was jogging near Chignik Lake, Alaska when she was attacked and killed my two wolves. The suspected wolves were eventually tracked down and killed by authorities from a helicopter. They are now running test to confirmed that they were the wolves that killed Berner. This attack came as quite a surprise to the little community of Chignik Lake of a population of just 105 people. The whole story is such a big deal because this is only the second deadly wolf attack in North America in over half a century.

This story is also a very big surprise to me. I find it very crazy that these two wolves just spontaneously attacked this lady, it is very sad. I find it even more surprising, though, that these two wolves were just tracked down and killed right there on the spot. I feel like they should have been just tranquilized first so tests could have been done before they just went and killed them. If they somehow shot the wrong wolves then that would be very stupid and wrong. I even find it a bit wrong that they had to kill the wolves at all. I think they should have done test first to see if the wolves were okay or were dangerous and then decided to kill them or not. It just does not seem right that killing action had to happen right away.

Read the whole story at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/18/wolves.kill.woman/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Soldier gets Silver Star, reprimand for same battle

In July 2008 there was an attack on a combat outpost in Afghanistan and Army Capt. Matthew Myer was at this outpost. When the attack began Myer called for an air strike to come and help out. About 200 Taliban fighters were coming at the outpost and Myer's very important call to help resulted in him getting a Silver Star. By the time the little battle was over, 9 soldiers were killed and 12 others were injured. After the attack, the U.S. military was angry that the Taliban even got close to the base. They gave Myer and two of his superiors letters of reprimand for allowing the Taliban to attack so easily.

This situation seems extremely unfair in my opinion. The soldiers are already over there fighting for us and when one thing goes wrong, they get hardcore punished for it. There is no way that the attack was at all their fault and even if they could have stopped them, I'm sure there still would have been casualties. They should not be singled out at all in this situation for the punishments. I believe that there really should be no punishment at all but if the army believes there needs to be one then they should figure it out fairly. I mean they are fighting a war so there is going to be casualties so I don't think that punishments need to be handed out every time something bad happens or a soldier dies. The whole situation just seems completely unfair and not right.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/03/12/silver.star.reprimand/index.html?npt=NP1

Suspect kills self in Ohio State shooting, police say

A man killed his manager and himself at Ohio State University at 3:30am this morning 3.9.10. Apparently he was angry over a bad performance review. His name was Nathaniel Brown and was 51 years old, he had worked at the university for 10 years. One other person was shot but only wounded.

This article is very sad but quite ridiculous at the same time. Any time anyone ever takes their own life, or someone else, its very tragic and I can't help but wonder if it was preventable. There are many other things I'm sure that played into this event, like what exactly was said during the review that was given, how he was treated as an employee and most likely there were some mental issues that Brown had. Something must have been very wrong because i can't imagine working with someone for 10 years and then going and shooting them. I think it will be interesting to hear about the details of this situation.

Read the article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/09/ohio.state.shooting/index.html

Issue #1 - War Dollars

In 2008 President Bush added $4 trillion to our national debt to bring it to nearly record highs of over $9 trillion. Now it is over $12 trillion and is continuing to rise. Over the last 8 years, the number has done nothing but rise and it is nearly all due to our decision to go to war. Every American knows that we are at war and have been ever since 9/11, but people were so caught up in the idea of getting back and Iraq and Afghanistan that they didn't realize just how much this war would cost. People still believe that the cause is good but now the majority of people believe that we have done nothing but waste money. We did put away some terrible people and have most likely brought the terror threat way down but for the most part it was just money being wasted. In the past, Congress has used its power to put more control on the amount of money being spent for a war. All war bills or requests cannot take effect until Congress has approved them and if spending is getting out of hand from what has already been approved, Congress can intervene and put a stop to it. This whole idea is called "power of the purse". This has been the case before during the Vietnam War when Congress put a cap on the amount of troops and also in 1982 when they wouldn't allow President Reagan to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. With Congress having the ability to do this, people are starting to wonder why they are not doing it now. This war has not done much for our country other than put us deeper in the hole. If Congress is thinking the same way as the people are, they should step in and put a stop to all this unneeded spending.

I think Congress needs to step in and stop our countries spending overseas. I believe we have done our job over there, especially in Iraq, and it is time to make some changes. I think that the real problem is in Afghanistan now and that we should be more focused on that country. We are only wasting our money and our troops' lives in Iraq. I think we should send most of the troops from Iraq into Afghanistan and the ones that stay behind should only be there to help out the rebuilding of the country and its infrastructure. By doing this we are balancing our spending out way more and will no longer need to increase the amount of money being used over there. Al Qaida is more of a problem than anything right now so it should be focused on. About a year ago, President Obama had the same idea. He backed the pentagons plan of sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. He believes that not enough has been done in Afghanistan and says "we've got to ramp up our development approach." This is the same way I think things should go because it just a big waste over in Iraq.

Issue #2 - Spending What We Can Afford

Issue #3 - Social Insecurity

Who will light Vancouver's Olympic flame?

There are many names out there right now about who will light the Olympic Torch this year in Vancouver. Names such as Terry Fox, Wayne Gretzky, Rick Hanson, Cindy Klassen, and even Sidney Crosby are all being considered. I, personally, do not know much at all about Terry Fox and honestly don't have a huge preference as to who should light it. If I had to choose, though, I would definitely pick Gretzky. He is one of the greatest hockey players of all time and would fit the role perfectly because of him being a Canada native and it being the winter games. I think Rick Hanson would fit the role well also but I don't see him being the one to do it considering he has already traveled thousands of miles with the torch around the world. I feel as though he has already had a great opportunity and does not need to be in the glory any more. I think someone else deserves to do the lighting of the torch. I also think any other previous Olympic athlete from Canada is a great candidate for the lighting and deserves to do it. Still, though, I think Gretzky should be doing it because he is the most widely known and was such a great player that he really would be the perfect person for it.

Read more about these people at:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=384587.html

Haiti: UN launches largest-ever appeal for natural disaster

The massive earthquake in Haiti last month caused some of the worst damages following a natural disaster. This extreme quake has resulted in the need of the largest appeal ever following a natural disaster. The $1.5 billion will go to the need of the people living in Haiti with such things as education, emergency shelter, telecommunications, agriculture, and health and nutrition.

I think this appeal is extremely important and a very good thing. The money is needed unbelievably to help out Haiti in its recovery. I am in very much support of this appeal because of how much it is needed. I like the idea of this whole appeal because it is coming from the UN so it is a combination of countries supporting the cause. I believe the U.S. has helped out extremely by sending troops there and many volunteers and other support such as supplies, food, water, and various education supplies. Many times when the U.S. supports another country is after a war or something and a lot of the times I am not in support of it because the country does not always deserve the aid. In this situation, though, I am giving all my support because there was nothing that could have prevented this earthquake. It was all natural and I believe that Haiti deserves all the support that everyone and anyone can give.

More information at:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33815&Cr=haiti&Cr1=

Toyota posts $1.7 billion quarterly profit

Toyota has recently just announced that they have produced a $1.7 billion profit in the last quarter. This number is very large considering the companies recent car malfunctions with the sticking gas pedals and brakes. This large profit is also due to the fact that many other major car companies are struggling right now. Toyota is also expecting a profit through March when they were earlier expecting a huge loss. This is somehow being expected even though their stock has tumbled about 22%.

This article surprised me very much because of the major issues Toyota has been having. I figured with all these problems they have been having, the companies sales would be way down lately. Apparently, though, I was wrong. I am not surprised, however, that Toyota is probably doing a bit better than other major car companies. Those other companies are on the downfall and are having more problems than just a few malfunctions. This whole recession just started problems and they continued to grow and get worse and worse. It doesnt seem like there is a company out there right now that is not having problems so it shouldnt be too surprising to see Toyota's stock on the downfall. I think that they really need to solve their problems in their cars or their problems will get extremely terrible because people will begin to stop buying their cars.

Read more at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35230344/

Fewer unauthorized immigrants in U.S. in 2009, government says

In 2008 there was 11.6 million illegal immigrants in the United States. In 2009 there was 10.8 million which is 800,000 less. About 62% of this number were immigrants coming from Mexico while the other 38% consist of people from Asia, Canada, and other various southern countries. California is the state with the leading number of illegal immigrants with about 24% of the total. The falling numbers of illegal immigrants are said to be due to our countries recession in the past few years.

The falling number of illegal immigrants in the United States is a number that, in my opinion, should continue to fall. I don't like that there are millions of illegal people in our country taking our jobs and eating our food. I have absolutely no problem with anyone coming here legally because it is just the right thing to be allowed but when it is illegal it is not right. I think we need to have better restrictions and security on our borders to reduce the number of incoming illegal immigrants coming into our country. The thing that probably annoys me the most is how these people are taking our jobs. Our country is having major problems with unemployment and our economy lately and I think that any available jobs should be going to those unemployed people that are actually citizens of our country. It does not seem fair at all the people living here illegally can even get a job in this country when we are having problems like we are.

Please read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/10/illegal.immigrants/index.html?npt=NP1

Avatar is box office king

Avatar, the latest movie by James Cameron, has now officially passed Titanic as the highest grossing movie of all time. It is now at $1.86 billion while Titanic topped out at $1.84 billion. The next step for Cameron and his newest production is the outcome at the Oscars. Critics are predicting that it will not surpass Titanic for record numbers at the Oscars. I personally believe that it should beat it because it is, in my opinion, the best movie I have seen yet. The special effects are unbelievable and the acting is amazing. Altough the $300 million spent on this movie is a bit more than all other movies, it still deserves to win a lot of awards. If it were up to me, I would give it every award it was nominated for.


For more information on this article, visit the following website:
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Avatar+office+king+never+sink+Titanic+Oscar+tally/2488917/story.html