U.S. "woefully" inadequate to respond to attack?

Recently Bob Graham, chairman of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism and former Florida Senator, has decided to publicly announce how vulnerable he believes the US is to responding to any major terrorist attacks. Mr. Graham’s Commission gave the Obama administration an “F” in the area of responding to a bio-terror attack. In an interview on NPR Mr. Graham’s co-chair former senator Jim Talent, when speaking about the terrorists, went as far as to say that “Eventually, they're going to defeat the intel apparatus”. That is a pretty scary statement when its coming from someone whose job it is to determine our safety and security. That statement also begs the question, is someone who has seemingly already admitted defeat the right man for the job? I want someone who has some optimism and isn’t convinced our intel is bound to fail, believing our intelligence is going to fail isn’t a winning strategy and sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yeah we might get attacked if Sen. Talent is one of the individuals in charge of preventing it.
This whole ordeal makes you wonder if this information being broadcast all over the media is a good idea? Maybe we could send this embarrassing report card to the head of al-Qaida, or any other organization who may want to attack us? I feel like we’re saying “Hey Mr. Terrorist, if you were thinking about attacking us, nows the time”. I don’t think we should be telegraphing how weak we are around the world. It seems like this information should be discussed with the president and security experts privately so they could do something about it, not broadcast over all the major news networks letting the whole world know that we wouldn’t be able to respond to an attack.

NPR Interview
CNN:US gets "F" on bioterror response

Max Kruse
POS2001/075366
Tu 7:00-9:45

Survey Results

The results of the survey we took the first night of class are below:

What is your political party?
Democrat 20
Republican 7
Don't know 4
Independent 1
Libertarian 1
Libertarian Green 1
Liberal 1

What is your ideology?
Don't know 25
Liberal 4
Conservative 1
Moderate 1
Socialist 1
Libertarian 1
Laissez-Faire 1
Issue stances 1
Realist 1

Who did you vote for in the presidential election?
Barack Obama 18
John McCain 8
Didn't vote 5
Ron Paul 1
Ralph Nader 1
Not old enough 1
No answer 1

Socialist, Republican, voted for McCain

Do you approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president?
Yes 13
No 8
Somewhat 7
Don't know 7

Who is the governor of Florida?
Charlie Crist 13
Don't know 12
*Charlie Crist 5
Charlie Chris 3
Charlie Crisp 1
Jeb Bush 1

Name Florida's two senators.
Don't know 27
*Bill Nelson 3
Mel Martinez 2
Bernie Sanders (VT) 1
Marco Rubio 1
Brown 1
Bob Graham 1

Name your local representative.
Don't know 30
*Allen Boyd 3
Al Lawson 1

Name one other world leader.
Don't know 18
*Raul Castro, Cuba 4
Hu Jintao, China 1
Ho Chi Min, North Korea 1
Hugo Chavez, Chile 1
*Hugo Chavez, Venezuela 1
Nicolas Sarkozy, France 1
Pope Benedict 1
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti 1
*Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran 1
*Queen Elizabeth, UK 1
*Dmitry Medvedev, Russia 1
Vicente Fox, Mexico 1
*Gordon Brown, UK 1
Su Jon Kim, South Korea 1

Where do you get your news from?
Television 12
Internet 8
Newspaper 4
Magazines 2
News 2
Radio 1

Family 5
Friends 2
Don't know 1
Anywhere 1
Don't 1

CNN 15
Fox 5
MSNBC 5
Tallahassee Democrat 4
USA Today 3
Huffington Post 3
CSpan 2
The Daily Show 2
Time 2
NPR 2
Facebook 2
CBS 1
The Onion 1
Salon 1
Popurls.com 1
New York Times 1
YouTube 1
Politico 1
Drudge Report 1
Reddit 1
Washington Post 1
AP 1
MSN 1
AOL 1
ABC 1

What are the most important issues facing America today?
Economy 20
Health care 14
War 5
Iraq 4
Debt 3
Education 2
War on drugs 2
Terrorism 2
Undeclared wars 1
Loss of civil liberties 1
Gay marriage 1
Marriage 1
Military budget 1
Corporate monopolies 1
Crime 1
Number of black men incarcerated 1
Energy 1
Technology 1
Global warming 1
Gun rights 1
Taxes 1
Supreme Court nominations 1
Overactive legislation 1
Drinking age 1
Iran 1
Our missiles near Poland 1
Abortion 1
Don't know 1

More Debt

Today the House approved the 106 billion dollar war funding bill. This bill was barely passed. This bill is to help commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan in the upcoming months. It will also help cover expenses for all other war related issues. This is a steep price to pay but it is a necessary one to keep our nation secure.

Stefan Sigurjonsson
POS2001- 12 p.m.
Monday-Friday

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31386942/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

War Brewing

President Obama has vowed to protect South Korea from any nuclear threats made by North Korea. According to the president the United States is not going to put up with North Korea bullying its neighbor. This could ultimately turn against us and bring us into more conflict. North Korea is an extremist country and mite not take lightly to the presidents vow.

Stefan Sigurjonsson
POS2001- 12 p.m.
Monday-Friday

http://content.usatoday.com/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tallahassee&sParam=35372158.story

Bill, Bill, Bill

Gov. Crist signed a bill banning local government to charge what is known as a “crash tax.” This means if some one calls for an emergency dispatch they won’t be charged and outrageous amount of money for it, it will be free. This is good for us but bad for police, fire, and medical facilities. People shouldn’t have to pay a cent for that since we the people, do have to pay taxes each year. Another good bill signed by Crist.

Stefan Sigurjonsson
POS2001- 12 p.m.
Monday-Friday

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090616/CAPITOLNEWS/90616015/Crist+signs+bill+prohibiting+local+governments+to+charge+for+emergency+response

No Work

With a new budget and costs in Tallahassee, the city is proposing to cut 112 positions to reduce the amount of money being spent on the city’s payroll. This will save the city 6.6 million dollars. With this budget there will be fewer employees in park, recreation, and neighborhood affairs. This is a tuff break for all those people who will lose there jobs.

Stefan Sigurjonsson
POS2001- 12 p.m.
Monday-Friday

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090616/NEWS01/906160313&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

healthcare hoax

according to ruch limbaugh ther is no healthcare crisis. he says nobody is walking around worried about being wiped out by a car accident or illness. here is where i disagree, we are not all as well off as he is. for some of us insured people its a financial struggle to take care of an illness, imagine what its like for someone without. america needs to do something to better serve its citizens in the way of healthcare, i dont think universal will do but something needs to chnge soon.

thomas colbert
pos2001 12p.m.

satire

i like comedy, and when i can get my politics in a funny way, im willing to listen. jon stewart and stephen colbert are some of the funniest guys on the tube and the fact that theydo politics makes them even better. for the longest time these were my primary sources of political information. i love they sarcastic tones taken by these two on certain issues, however when its time to ask the hard question they are more than able. take a look at these guys, they make politics bareable.

thomas colbert
pos2001 12p.m.

logical fallicies

i have made an effort to watch fox news and i have noticed ont thing more than any other, they are full of it. i will use fallicies in this post just because fox did it so blatently.. They use true information the wrong way. they name call more than anyone else on television. fox i believe makes up all of its stats, or they just know who to poll because bush was always doing well. i just wondeer if anyone else pays any attention to how off they are most of the time.

thomas colbert
pos2001 12p.m.

what if

what if we had hilary clinton for a president now, what do you think would be different? what if sara palin was actually able to pull enough support to win mccain the presidency. what if george W had listened to gen. powell some 8 years back, where would we be as a country today? What if al gore won florida? what if...

thomas colbert
pos2001 12p.m.

Barak the magic negro

is this song racist? just because a black man sings it does not mean that its not. but just because it seems insulting to the race does not mean it is.i think its funny. the first time i heard the song on rush limbaugh, i flipped, then i heard it a few more times and listened to the words, its a big joke now. google barak the magic negro and listen yourself tell me what you think.

thomas colbert
pos2001 12p.m.

Crist Signs

Governor Charlie Crist Signed a bill on Tuesday requiring people that a charged with a felony to provide a DNA sample to the state. This bill could help authorities make arrest on crimes that were never solved. This could also make solving crimes a quicker process since more people’s DNA will be on file. This was a good choice by Gov. Crist and will make a big difference quickly. This should have been done a long time ago.

Stefan Sigurjonsson
POS2001- 12 p.m.
Monday-Friday

http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tallahassee&sParam=30982081.story

$73million to go to Zimabawe

The Obama administration announced last Friday. The money will not go to any government agencies, the president said. He also said, “because we continue to be concerned about consolidating democracy, human rights and rule of law,” Obama said. “But it will be going directly to the people in Zimbabwe.” Is this a good thing? Yes, most countries in Africa could use anybody's help they can get, but in a time when all you hear about is recession, is that a good thing?

source:

Lucas Parsons
POS2001 MF 9
June 16, 2009

Tell me something I don't know

On Tuesday, the Obama administration released a 200 page doscument on global climate change. It basically says all the info that we've been hearing for years now. There is onw a bill in the house that will reduce greenhouse emissions by 17% by 2020. I think this is a good way to go in the direction of a greener world.
Lucas Parsons
PoS2001 MF 9
June 16, 2009

Minor Problem

According to state agencies underage drinking in Florida is a major problem. A study shows that Florida’s minors drink on average more then the national average. This problem is costing our state over 3 billion dollars annually. I can only imagine that in time this problem could get worse.

Stefan Sigurjonsson
POS2001- 12 p.m.
Monday-Friday


http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tallahassee&sParam=30980257.story

Nevada Sen. John Ensign admits affair

Senator John Ensign admitted to having an affair with one of his staff members. It is bad enough that a Senator had an affair but I believe that it is worse that it was with a former co-worker who was close friends with her husband. It is a shame that someone who was considered a rising star in the Republican party has now given himself and his party a bad reputation. I think that this is going to hinder him from being re-elected in the 2012 elections because people want representatives that they can trust.
Natalie Bellini
POS2001-12pm
June 16, 2009

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/16/ensign.affair/index.html

New Anti-Smoking Bill

Last Friday, Obama signed a historic bill which, he hopes, will prevent teen smoking. The new bill will put even more regulations on tobacco. No more light flavored or "candy" flavored cigarettes are allowed to be sold. They will also feature bigger warning labels, much like Canada's, which show pictures of what happens to your internal organs when you smoke. I think they are going way to far with this one. We are already well aware of the dangers of smoking.



Justin Austin
12pm M-F
POS2001

Rival demonstrations fill Tehran streets

In Tehran, Iran during last weeks presidential elections Iran's government banned international journalists from covering election rallies. The government also blocked access to some online communication tools. Reporters for international news outlets could talk about the rallies in their live reports but were not allowed to leave their hotel rooms and offices. I do not believe that the government should have the power to control its people and block the whole country from the world. I think people should have the freedom to talk to their relatives that live in other countries whenever they want. They should not be restricted or told when and what time they are allowed to use certain websites and make phone calls.
Natalie Bellini
POS2001-12pm
June 16, 2009


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/16/iran.elections.protests/index.html

Iranian-Americans 'hungry' for updates amid tumult in Iran

Iranian-Americans are turning to internet sources to find out what going on in Iran. I think that technology is great in the fact that even though there have been attempts to shut the world out of Iran, technology is prevailing and the needed information is going out. This is truly a testament to technology and the power of the internet. I think the internet is a crucial tool now and will continue to be one well into the future. It is also very refreshing to see people around the world becoming more and more active in their countries' affairs, even if they can't be there to witness them in person.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/16/iranian.americans/index.html

Randall Grant
POS2001
12PM M-F

Obama Kills a Fly

Here is some good footage to take your mind off studying for the final. In this interview, a pesky fly hovers around Obama. He warns it, then smashes it with his hands. I think it is kind of funny to see Obama talk so seriously to the fly. What do you all think?



Justin Austin
12 P.M M-F
POS2001