HACK- The GOP candadates for President

 

The candadates avoided questions or went around answering them. They took every shot they could at Obama but failed to state their ideas, or political agenda. Romney and Perry were bickering back and forth about immigration. Romney said he couldnt have hired illegals because he's "running for office" as if to say if he werent it would be ok. There seems to be no strong candadate and no clear focus in the party.

 

Michael Fiore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hero - President Obama

I am heroing President Obama because of his plan to help out college students.  In order to go to college, many students take out multiple loans, putting them in a debt that takes them awhile to bring themselves out of.  Obama is working towards trying to help out these college students with their loan debts.  He is proposing more favorable terms to a special loan repayment program that will be based on the student's income that will work with them as they are trying to repay for their education.

~ Michelle Deacon

http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/25/obamas-plan-to-help-college-students/

 

 

Hero: President Barack Obama 

 

President Obama this week is going to extra mile to help Veterans returning home from Iraq. He is planning to stimulate job growth by helping find Veterans work in Community Health Centers as Physician Assistants. He is taking executive action to accomplish this, and in the words of Matt Flavin,  “I think all Americans can agree that veterans shouldn’t have to fight for a job once they’ve come home from the fight overseas.” Through this plan, there are an estimated 8,000 jobs that will be created. 

 

Sarah Hammer

 

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-takes-executive-action-to-help-veterans-find-work/

 

 

Hack: Romney

  

  

     Politics is an endless battle of ideals, and when ideals clash, sometimes so do swords. But in today's day and age, I expect a lot more self control from our "would-be presidents." I understand people get aggravated, and this "hand on the shoulder" move is not "violent" in the least. However, imagine a delegate from Mexico visiting the United States and the president at the time brings up the illegal immigrants problem. If things got heated, the president cannot under any circumstances do such a thing. It would bring shame upon all americans and ill looks from all the world. Such a simple gesture can have drastic effects in the world of politics.

 

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/19/nation/la-na-shoulder-touch-20111019

 

 

 

HACK: MICHELE BACHMANN

 

     My political hack of the week would have to be Michele Bachmann. Bachmann is claiming that Iraq should repay us, America, for the damages done. She believes that we should be reimbursed “for a war that cost $800 billion and left 5,000 U.S. dead.” She went on to say in an interview: “I believe that Iraq should reimburse the U.S. fully for the amount of money we've spent to liberate these people….They are not a poor country. They're a wealthy country." I’m pretty sure that we are the ones that went over to Iraq, not the other way around. Obviously, as an American, I’m rooting for the U.S. in this war, but she doesn’t seem to be making any sense. We invaded Iraq, not the other way around. I don’t know exactly what she is talking about because Iraq didn’t actually ask for help. However, if she demands Iraq to repay us, can’t Iraq turn around and be like we didn’t ask for your help? Our troops were sent over there for many reasons, but one main thing was to liberate the country’s people and to set up a democracy. Bachmann wants reimbursement, but I don’t think she has any right or authority to demand that. Some people say that we went overseas as a result of ambition; others say it was Iraq’s oil. Either way, I don’t think Bachmann makes much sense.   

http://www.startribune.com/politics/132415158.html

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0913-03.htm

~Chelsea Ann Rovnan

 

 

HACK: JOE BIDEN

http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_19159803

I chose to hack Biden because he claims that people who don't support Obama's Jobs Bill are "soft on violent crime". This is a ridiculous statement because no one is okay with rapists and murders running about. People are against the bill because it isn't the federal government's job to pay the salaries of local police forces, not because they don’t care about crime rates. They are against this bill because once the federal government temporarily gives money to local police forces, as soon as they take the money away, the local municipalities will no longer be able to pay the salaries for all the police force and will have to let some go, resulting in criticism on the local governments.

Christie McLaughlin 

 

HERO: OBAMA

I chose to HERO Barack Obama this week due to his firm declaration of withdrawing all United States troops from Iraq by the end of this year and concluding the Iraqi War, one of the longest wars in United States history. On Friday, October 21, Obama determinedly announced that soldiers who were initially sent to fight against Saddam Hussein would be “home for the holidays.” He stated that, "Over the next two months, our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home.'' However, in order to help maintain peace and stability after the American forces leave the Iraqi people to live and defend themselves, especially against ongoing attacks from al-Qaida, the United States will continue to provide various contractors and U.S. diplomats to serve the need of the Iraqi people. Obama also stated that about 160 military personnel will remain in Iraq to help train and prepare the Iraqi army. Overall, even though some may disagree with Obama’s decision to withdraw American troops at this time, no one will ever be unhappy to see our troops come home safe and sound.

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44990594/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/obama-all-us-troops-out-iraq-end-year/

---Hayley Hanuscin

 

 

HERO: OBAMA

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/24/141653751/obama-to-push-help-for-mortgage-refinancing

 

 

 

My hero of the week is Obama. He will be promoting a series of executive branch movements that should boost up our economy starting with a plan to recover the housing market. The new program called Home Affordable Refinance Program or HARP for short will provide aid to homeowners with little or no equity financing their housing loans. The program will also help homeowners with water damage that is still paying their bills to remove barriers and fix up their homes.

-Diana 

 

 

 

 

Hero:

My hero this week is director, Brian Malone. Malone is the director of the new movie, Patriocracy. In making this movie, Malone points out all of the flaws that the American people see in their government. His point in making the movie is to show the American people that, if they want change, they need to participate. I applaud him for his dedication to his cause.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/filmmaker-turns-lens-partisanship-washington-14788172

~Marygrace Urmson

 

 

 

Hero: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Since 2010, when Iseaeli forces killed nine Turks during a raid while heading to the Gaza Strip, the once close relations between the two countries was severed.  However, immediately following the devastating earthquake in Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and paid his condolances.  Netanyahu also offered to send rescue teams to assist with searching for missing people, cleaning up, and rebuilding.  I feel that is commendable because, despite the tense relations between our two allies, when the country of Turkey was in crisis, Israel kindly stepped in to give support.

 

-Deirdre O'Leary, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45011278/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hero: Philadelphia Police Department (John Conway)

My hero of the week is the Philadelphia Police Department for how they handled protesters associated with the Occupy Philadelphia movement that were blocking 8th and Race streets near the police department's headquarters. Although the Occupy movement is primarily a protest against Wall Street and the greed of corporations, it has come to take on other issues such as police brutality, particularly in Philadelphia. In response to the brutality experienced by protesters in New York, members of the Occupy Philadelphia movement wanted to make a statement against police brutality, refusing to move and holding their ground when asked by police to take their protests elsewhere. The people who were arrested were arrested peacefully, simply walked away into custody and then released after processing. One organizer of Occupy Philadelphia was quoted as saying that the situation went down very well, and that the Philadelphia police showed the world how to handle protesters.  I applaud the Philadelphia Police for making all 15 arrests peacefully, and merely out of necessity for public safety from the obstruction of a highway. 

 

 

 

 

 

My Hack for the week is the United States Senate. I chose to HACK the Senate because for the second time in 2 weeks, they blocked Obama's proposed jobs bill. This bill would hire more teachers and first responders in every state and would also prevent current teachers and first responders from being laid off. Our economy needs a boost and this bill would be a good one.

Jason Amado

---

Hillary Clinton is my herothis week because of her bold statement to Iran. She warned Iran not to use the withdraw of American troops in Iraq as an opportunity to build its influence in the country. She stated that the Iraqi government is "independent and sovereign" and that Iran has no place for influence. This all came after President Obama announced that mostly all troops would be removed from Iraq by the end of the year. I like the fact that Clinton is speaking up rather than holding back to wait and see what happens. Now that Iran has knowledge of the United States' feelings, they are more likely to hold back and let Iraq govern itself.

-Dan Nucero

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-warns-iran-us-remains-committed-iraq/story?id=14797099

 

 

Republican Candidates

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/18/opinion/granderson-divine-campaigns/index.html?hpt=po_r1

For my hack of the week, I chose the Republican candidates: Bachmann, Cain, Perry and Santorum.  They have all claimed that they have been called by God and sensed that he was leading them to run.  Perry's wife has said that while his GOP opponents are "there for good reasons. And they may feel like God called them, too ... I truly feel like we are here for that purpose." Perry agreed.  Cain recalls a conversation he had with God by saying: "I felt like Moses when God said, 'I want you to go into Egypt and lead my people out.'" Cain said. "Moses resisted. I resisted. ... But you shouldn't question God." Faith and religion is a personal thing and should be kept out of politics. Didn't they ever hear of separation of church and state?

Alexandria McNamara

 

 

   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/23/ron-paul-student-loans_n_1027276.html

  I am hacking the Ron Paul because he wants to end federal student loans. His reasoning is the program has out students $1 trillion in debt when there are no jobs and the education system has deteriorated. Ron Paul attended Gettysburg College and then earned a medical degree from Duke University. These two colleges cost over $40,000 a year. Ron Paul does not understand the need for federal based student loans. College students today do not have enough money to pay for college without some help from government. Instead of cutting back on college loans maybe the government should stop offering full social security and healthcare benefits, etc. to immigrants that have not earned these benefits. We should help out the American citizens first by providing an education to those who desire it. Ron Paul will be losing a lot of college student’s votes because his plan to end the federal student loan program. 

--Maddie Clifford

 

 

 

 

My hack for the week is the Chicago Police Department. On October 23, 2011, 130 people in the city of Chicago were arrested while protesting on the widespread movement of “Occupy Wall Street” for inhabiting Chicago’s Grant Park “after hours.” Chicago police warned the protestors to leave the public area and those who remained were arrested. The fact that a public park has hours is a tad baffling to me. When I Googled the park and read the information on the visitor’s guide of Chicago, there were no hours posted.  It seems like the Chicago police just wanted a reason to draw attention to the crack down of the Wall Street Protestors to violate their right to protest.

-Mary Radziszewski

 

 

 

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Taylor Howard

October 23, 2011

 

This week I chose to hero the federal government for a new program that will improve patient care. They plan to do this by getting doctors, hospitals and other care providers to work together more when it comes to their patients. Health-care providers will be able to start forming accountable care organizations in 2012 to coordinate health care, share records and cut down on duplicative tests and medical records. These organizations will be known as ACOs. In order to one day provide health insurance for the millions of uninsured people, Obama and the rest of the government believed this was the best approach to begin improving care quality.

 

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/all-us-troops-to-leave-iraq/2011/10/21/gIQAUyJi3L_story.html

     This week I decided to hero President Barack Obama for his and his administration's decision of withdrawing the American troops from Iraq. President Obama has promised the families of the troops and the American people that remaining military forces will be withdrawn by end of the year. This is no easy promise for the president, because nearly 40,000 U.S. men and women will have to be returned back to the United States by the upcoming holiday. The only people who will be staying in Iraq are about 200 marines, for security purposes around the U.S. Embassy. This is a huge accomplishment for the troops and the people of American, because America's war in Iraq will finally be over. 

-Anthony Nicolo

 

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/24/news/economy/flat_tax/index.htm

My hack for this week is Rick Perry and his flat tax system. What he wants to do is alter the income tax system, which taxes one based on their circumstances, and change this to a flat tax system, which taxes each individual equally. This may sound like a wonderful idea, but it's really not, for this means that those who make $200,000 a year are being taxed the same as those only making $30,000 or less per year. This means that the government could be taxing some citizens a bit too heavily, and it's not moral to make someone pay, say $2000 in taxes who only makes about $40,000 while someone who makes quadruple this salary is paying the same amount. To make up for the amount of money the government would be taking from the wealthy in the original tax system, the rates would have to be fairly high to pay for all it needs to, even though many swear the rates will be low. Some also claim this system wouldn't work because there will always be those who give tax breaks to others, and eventually, changing the system would have seemed pointless.  

~Jessica Phares~

 

HERO BARACH OBAMA

 

 

 

I am Heroing President Obama for his effort to help Veterans of Iraq to get a job after they defend our nation. Obama urges Community Healths Centers to employee 8,000 veterans in the next three years. Although their are many opposing views on this matter I agree with Matt Flavin, who stated in the article, “I think all Americans can agree that veterans shouldn’t have to fight for a job once they've come home from the fight overseas." This statement is so true. U.S. Vets have fought and defended this country and allowed each and every U.S. citizen go through the daily course of life unscathed and in peace. Those men, soldiers and defenders of this Nation, should not come home from war and struggle to find a job in the country they have defended.

 

Emily Gumpper