Putting Welfare to work

Decreasing? That never sounds good in any situation. After more than ten years of welfare reform and decreasing numbers of TANF cases, more people would argue for going back to the old no-strings-attached cash assistance program.. The number of people receiving welfare benefits has plummeted. More poor single mothers are working. Many families use food stamps,to help needy individuals and families with incomes below certain levels. Child support collections have increased. Yet poverty persists.43 percent of those living in poverty took in income equal to half or less of $19,350. About 2.5 million families have left the welfare program, and by getting many of them into the labor force, TANF has successfully moved them toward long-term self-sufficiency.While admitting that the jobs are often low-paying, advocates stress that as workers gain skills and experience, their earnings will increase.Supporters acknowledge that some people, especially single mothers, have fallen through the cracks. That's why, they say, the government should enact stricter work require­ments and encourage marriage for those with children through efforts such as funding marriage skills courses and divorce reduction programs.

In my opinion i think everyone can work. I think welfare should go to the needist families. Evan though families are very needy and need help i still think a person in the house hold can work. Teenagers have the ability to work, go to school, and have a social life and still can do better than families who need welfare. Sometimes i think that families who are on welfare, food stamps sometimes they are just to lazy or think they can't get a job cause what they are going though.

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Article #2

Manhunt on for suspect in cop shootings

On Monday police went searching for a man that killed four police officer. Before the shooting Maurice threaten police that he was going to kill them. Authorities were summoned to the Leschi area about 8:45 p.m. Sunday after a tip that Clemmons was dropped off in the area. The police blocked off the streets and had neighbors lock their doors. The police also made an alert the the University of Washington on edge.Clemmons was given a 95-year prison sentence.
This is what our world has came too having killers on the run. It's pretty scary thing to think about. It's funny/sad to think about that the cops were killed in a coffee shop.

David Hasselhoff hospitalized

Hasselhoff was hospitalized for two days. his attorney Mel Goldsman would not disclose the nature of his illness. His ex wife was put into jail for a DUI and was released and taken home by one of her friends. I believe that he was taking pills and they didn't mix well. I think i heard that happened befor to him. I'm so tired of all ways hearing about hot shot celebertys going to the hospital or going to jail.

Scores arrested in wildlife poaching raids

More than 2 tons of ivory has been seized and more than 100 people arrested in an international operation targeting wildlife crime in eastern Africa, Interpol announced Monday.Shops and markets in the six countries were inspected and raided, resulting in the seizure of ivory, weapons and ammunition and the confiscation of vehicles.
This is just weird for me because i really don't know anything about Poaching. If the law states no poaching then no poaching the people that got arrested deserves it.

With failing record, Weis did the unthinkable: He became likeable

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was fired on Monday after compiling a mediocre 35-27 record in five years. He was paid alot of money for the little games he and his team won. Coach Charlie Weis didn't play for Notre Dame but went to school there. His life was falling apart he was the most made fun of man in football.

Weis always blamed himself first. He did not complain that Notre Dame fans were living in the 1940s or that the academic standards at the school were too high.

I really don't know anything about football or coaching so i don't have a opinon. If it was a good choice to fire him well i hope they did the right thing and the next coach will help win games.

Missing boy spent 11 days wandering New York subways

A 13-year-old teenager with Asperger's syndrome spent 11 days in October wandering New York's vast subway system until a police officer recognized him from a missing persons' poster, according to police and the youth's mother.The mother said that she contacted police when her son went missing, but received little help. Asperger's, a developmental disorder that affects the ability to socialize and communicate.

I believe that if a child has some kind of a disorder the parents should have more security on there kids than any other kids. When they new this child was missing don't they put out a amber alert? why wasn't it announced. The police department need to be held accountable for this one.
But I'm glad he was found

Issue #1 Comprehensive vs.Incremental Health Care Reform

President Bush's health care reform proposal has intensified the current debate over whether the U.S. health care system requires incremental or comprehensive reform. But some analysts say that those terms are merely political instruments in a much broader debate on U.S. social policy. Supporters of providing universal health care argue that the best way to ensure access to medical care is overhaul the financing of the nation's health care system.They think that decades of government funded provided programs like Medicare and Medicaid have contributed to the increased costs of medical care. Many of the supporters for the universal health care say that the government could become a single purchaser, acting on behalf of all patients. Another proposal for comprehensive reform relies on mandating government subsidies in which the poor receive tax credits or money that enables them to purchase insurance.Critics of comprehensive reform do not oppose the idea of health care for all. Changes such as enhancing tax-free Health Savings Accounts and offering tax deductions for people who buy their own health insurance. By making consumers pay greater shares of health care insurance and medical expenses from their own pockets, these policymakers believe that the market will naturally rein in medical costs.


In my opinion i think that the health care is set up to help the elderly people now whats going to happen when my generation gets older? I believe we have a choice to either have it for our self or not. I have noticed that some college kids rather not have health care. They rather wait when their older it is much needed when we are older because we are more liable to get sick. My view on health savings accounts, I don't like the idea. I don't want to be forced to put so much of each of my paychecks into a government account each month. But i no who good it feels to take the opportunity that is invaluable to my family. I'm not sure were i stand with all this yet it really hasn't affected my family. Maybe when I'm older i can understand it more.









ISSUE #2 -Ensuring Quality Care for Medicare Patients

http://sarahssocialblog.blogspot.com/

ISSUE #3 - Safe to Eat?Check out Joe's blog for more information: http://jumpingjoeblog.blogspot.com/

Vote shows Obama team must listen up

The president didn't watch the election returns Tuesday night, according to his press secretary, Robert Gibbs. He watched his beloved Chicago Bulls instead. He also would have realized a lot of angry voters are out there who aren't very satisfied with the direction of the country. In a word, Tuesday's election was anti-incumbent. The status quo isn't good enough.I don't believe Tuesday's election was a referendum on President Obama, but it sure was a warning sign that he has to do more then show up in New Jersey and say "I need Gov. Corzine to help me in Washington."

In my opinion when Obama took office there were two big issues, the economy and two wars. He's barely moved the dial on either. In fact unemployment is significantly worse, and Afghanistan under Obama's new strategy set in March has steadily deteriorated. Meanwhile Obama has been distracted trying to please his liberal base by taking on side issues like closing GITMO and health care. However, despite massive majorities in both houses of Congress, his list of achievements on his pet causes is also zip. He couldn't even sweet talk the Olympic Committee to pick Chicago. Obama is within a few months of being completely irrelevant since after the 1st of the year, Congress will be more worried about 2010 elections than Obama's agenda. So much for change.

Smell permeated Cleveland neighborhood where 11 bodies found, residents say

This article is about Eleven bodies have been found inside and outside a home adjacent to Ray's -- six inside and five outside. A skull, wrapped in a paper bag and stuffed into a bucket in the basement, apparently is all that remains of the 11th victim, authorities said Wednesday.The smell permeated the neighborhood, turning the stomachs of residents and curtailing their outdoor activities. The home's inhabitant, Anthony Sowell, 50, is a registered sex offender. Now, Sowell is facing five counts of aggravated murder, rape, felonious assault and kidnapping, police said. A judge on Wednesday denied bond for him, saying the latest allegations against him are "gruesome" and the "most serious" he has heard in his years on the bench.The first victim was identified Wednesday as Tonia Carmichael, who was 52 when she was last seen on November 10, 2008, police said. Carmichael was identified using DNA. She disappeared from Warrensville Heights, a Cleveland suburb near Sowell's home.Seven of the victims died from strangulation by a ligature, said Frank Miller, Cuyahoga County coroner. A ligature can include a string, cord or wire. All seven still had something tied around their necks, Miller told reporters.An eighth victim died from manual strangulation -- strangulation by hands. Two other bodies were too decomposed to determine the cause of death, although Miller said he believes they were victims of "homicidal violence." Autopsy results on the 11th victim are pending.

In my opinion this is a sick man. He should have the death sentence or should spend the rest of his life in jail. There is so much pain in all 11 families. Our probation departments around the nation are not doing there jobs.

http://www.mixx.com/stories/9027348/after_10_bodies_search_of_rapist_s_home_to_continue?partner=CNN

Maine rejects same-sex marriage law

This article is about Supporters of Maine's same-sex marriage law, which voters narrowly repealed, gathered Wednesday to concede the vote but not the issue.It seems in the end that Mainers are not ready to treat these families fairly. Mary Bonauto, a lawyer for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), who lives in Maine with her partner and their two children, said she was disappointed by the vote but she felt "a great deal has been gained through this whole process.There were two main reasons the group wanted to repeal the law, which was signed by Gov. John Baldacci on May 6. There was a religious element wanting to continue to define marriage as between a man and a woman, he said, but the group also felt that the legal inequities in domestic partnerships as compared with marriage could be addressed through lawmaking.

In my opinion who cares if you the same sex and want to get married. I say if you love someone no matter what age,color,sex,religion if you want to marry them do it. There shouldn't be a law telling someone not to get married. I'm very proud of states who approve the same sex marriage if i could vote i vote YES!

Mom 'will not sleep' until daughter's killer found

This article is about a seven year old girl that got kidnap in Orange Park, Florida on Monday from her way from school. She ran off from her siblings upset from telling them about a fight she had at school.She was seen in a fight at school before she disappeared, according to a police report released Thursday. Her 10-year-old sister told police that Somer had gotten into a fight with another girl at school earlier in the day. The body of 7-year-old Somer Thompson, was found in a south Georgia landfill, Clay County,Florida.Some possiable evidence has been removed from the landfill, but authorities won't describe what they found, said Mary Justino of the Clay County Sheriff's Department. Police have no suspects, she said.

My heart goes out to this little girl family. Police should do what ever they can to track down the murder. I think The 7 year old sister should of down something about this right when the girl ran off. And when the little girl got in a fight at school the school should of called the girls family to let them know. Then maybe she wouldn't of ran.

Senate panel OKs health reform bill; Obama: 'We're not there yet'

This article is about the health care reform debate reached a new milestone Tuesday as a key congressional committee passed an $829 billion plan projected to extend coverage to an additional 29 million Americans. The Senate Finance Committee's bill would subsidize insurance for poorer Americans and create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to purchase coverage. While the health care was being descussed the Finance Committee was the last of five congressional panels to consider health care legislation before formal debate begins in the full House and Senate. Democratic leaders in each chamber have now started the politically delicate task of melding together five pieces of legislation -- two in the Senate and three in the House.

All i can say about this article is what ever happens. Happens. I hope they did the right thing. Spending weeks in voting boosting the bill's overall price by more than $50 billion in part by expanding insurance subsidies for individuals and families with lower incomes.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/

War Dollars

The national debt is affecting the choices we take to spread out money to the areas, like the war. The war is contributing to the national deficit which is climbing more and more every year. The congress has used the "power of the purse" to cap what they spent on the war every year. There is one side of the issue that people want the congress to apply the "power of the purse" so they don't give as much money to the war troops. The other side wants to the congress to stop using the power of the purse so they spend more money for the troops in Iraq but it will increase the national debt and deficit.

In my opinion the congress should applied the power of purse bill because we are spending to much money in a war that shouldn't be going on. We are just spending money on infrastructure in Iraq. We could be saving the money for getting us out of the 12 trillion dollars debt. Another reason would be because we keep sending troops in and not pulling troops out of Iraq. This also effects the national debt and deficit. Some more reasons we wouldn't have to spend money on bring supplies to Iraq all the time. In turn we can be putting this money we are saving into more important areas that need money. For example education would be a alternative.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/12/white-house-browbeats-dem_n_214870.html


Issue #2: Spending What We Can Afford http://heathersanchez.blogspot.com/
Issue #3:Social Insecurity http://jumpingjoeblog.blogspot.com/

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Bailout cop: Treasury set 'unrealistic expectations'

This article is about federal officials weren't entirely honest with the public about the health of the first 9 financial firms that got federal bailouts, according to a report released Monday.Bailout special inspector general Neil Barofsky says in an audit that Treasury Department officials painted an overly rosy picture when they called the first bailout banks "healthy" institutions that would be able to lend more with government help. Some people knew that some banks weren't healthy to lend out money. They are saying one thing but they didn't do the research to make sure. The banks did not lend as much money as the people would want to see. The tarp did not help stability. SigTARP has opened 35 ongoing criminal and civil investigations looking for fraud, with a focus on banks that falsely applied for a bailout and those that used the TARP name in scams.Barofsky gives the major players the benefit of the doubt. He acknowledges that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson wanted the deal to go through, fearing the potential failure of Merrill Lynch and the "collateral damage to the economy.


It was wrong to lie to the public about banks being healthy and lend out money. How are people going to believe what is going on if we don't tell the truth about things. It was wrong not to do the research on the banks. I think the treasury needs to work harder.

Clinton, Gates: U.S. in Afghanistan for long haul

This article is about the United States is committed to a regional strategy to build long-standing relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two members of President Obama's Cabinet insisted that the president's deliberate approach to set the right objectives and policies for Afghanistan was necessary and proper. In this article It made some good views on the war for example Gates made clear that no matter what Obama decides on immediate troop levels, the United States will remain in Afghanistan to continue efforts to dismantle terrorist organizations and help with economic development and nation building.The pair played down division in the administration over McChrystal's request to increase the 68,000 troops in Afghanistan by as many as 40,000 more, saying the process called for frank discussion to help Obama make the appropriate decision.

My reaction to this article is that President Obama doesn't like to react fast he likes to take his time to think things out. Hopefully he knows what to do in Afghanistan. Maybe Obama doesn't want to look like a war guy that is why he is taking a long time to make a decision about a stragity. I think he wants to look like a nice guy.

Can tech personalities break into politics?

This article is about Meg Whitman. Former eBay Meg Whitman is running for Governor in California for 2010 she is trying to prove to people that high tech people can take up politics. Her Opponent is also for the tech world. She is known for her help in revolutionizing how people purchase goods through the Internet. Whitman told about 200 supporters that she was serious about the need for government to enter the 21st century. Hoffenblum thinks Meg Whitman is "not a typical white-bread Republican". He says its to close to tell if Meg Republican label will either help or hurt her. People think she doesn't have enough "star Fame" she is well known but not known enough. There are alot of questions on if a tech celebrity can fit into politics. Whitman isn't the first tech person to try to get into politics but she is the most well known one to do it.



I believe no matter who the person is if they believe they can do what they say or they believe they can make it in politics why not let them if there is an opening in politics people want to jump in they are well presented . No matter if a person is a high tech person they still have rights. Rights to vote and even to run for Governor in California. I don't think how Whitman is being pin pointed for her success is really necessary or something to look at when it comes to her running for Governor. It's

Obama says he expects 'good health care bill'

President Barack Obama said he is confident Congress will pass "a good health care bill". Obama is trying to pass a health care bill. He says he is not going to have a bill pass but fail with the people. Obama is stating his opinion in this article saying he is open to any ideas of so - called tort reform. Obama is willing to take any ideas that will actually works for reducing cost. In this article Obama is saying he wants people to be open minded about the bill and everything eles. He doesn't want to close the republicans out of trying to pass this bill. Like he said hes going to be president for a while and he wants to work on something he knows is going to work. If he didn't think trying to pass this bill and making it work, works he would'nt try as hard to get everyone behind him and making this work for everyone.

I belive that Obama has good things he wants to do. Some people think we should change it but it's to big of a change i belive that congress will pass the bill. I Fell like American needs to do somthing different.Obama's plans to be president "for awhile" may come to screeching halt if this healthcare plan passes against the taxpayers wishes. I feel like we just need somthing different. Changes.