North Korea Missile Tests

Tensions are rising in North Korea as they try to launch their fourth nuclear missile test sometime in the near future. This always leads to more tension between North and South Korea and leads to the United States either putting sanctions on the secluded country or us making threats of using military force. These both are not always effective and lead to more conflict.

                North Korea is the more shut down country in the entire world. Everything is monitored and there is absolutely no say in the country’s government. And the only way that they can show off their “power” is by testing off missiles that do not always work. I put the word power in quotes is because they have no power in anything that happens in the world. They believe that they are the best nation in the world when in reality North Korea is the worst.

                As the people in the country live in poverty the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Il, lives in the best way possible. All of the people are brainwashed and if anybody tries to speak out against the government they are thrown into prison camps. Not only is that one person thrown into the camps but relatives are too because they think that because one family member does it the rest are rebels too. It is just a messed up society that will never be good in any way, shape, or form.

                As North Korea tries to assert their power the United States has to stay on their guard. North Korea will do anything to show what they have and will stop at nothing to prove themselves.  

Agreement with the Philippines

Territory disputes are a problem between the countries of China and the Philippines and the United States is a huge ally with the Philippine government. Even though we are huge market sharers with the Chinese we still do not want to help them financially and defiantly not militarily. An agreement between the United States and the Philippines has stated that the number of American troops in the Philippines will rise and will stay like that for the next ten years, according to FOX News. With China being a huge industrial power that makes a lot of the United States’ goods this could lead to some problems. Also, this contradicts what Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said about the size of our overall military and this will lead to more troops.

                China is a huge producer of clothes and electronics for the United States. No matter where you go to buy clothes the tag will say “Made in China” and all iPhones are assembled in China. This agreement with the Philippines could hurt some relations with the industrial powerhouse. China has become more aggressive in Eastern Asia and has led to many disputes over land especially in the Philippines which makes up almost 10,000 islands. The Philippine Army is neither big enough nor strong enough to take on the Chinese government. This is where the United States comes into play. With China being a communist country we as a whole do not want them spreading and we want to keep them in one place. The United States has been allies with the Philippines for decades and this is why we are helping them out. It will strengthen their country and help protect them from the Chinese if anything were to happen militarily.

                The only problem I have with this agreement is that there are other places we could have our troops at this time. The Russian Army is being way more aggressive against the Ukrainian Army and we have showed no sign of aggression by the United States. At this time these situations should be dealt with first before we make agreements with other countries. Also, it contradicts what John Kerry has said about the size of our military and that it needs to be reduced. This could lead to an influx of soldiers being sent to the Philippines therefore defeating the purpose of reducing our army. Reducing our Army in the first place could be dangerous not only for the United States but for the entire world. Many countries rely of the U.S to look after them and reducing the size could affect that.

                Even though there are some upsides to provide more troops for the Philippines other issues have to be addressed. As long as China does not hurt any people are try to invade any part of the island nation we should worry about other problems that remain especially in Eastern Europe. Only time will tell if anything will change and the rest of the world relies of the United states to “police” the world and make sure everything is kept in check. 

Keystone Debate

TransCanada Corporation has been trying to set up a huge oil pipeline that runs through the heart of the United States.  This “Keystone” pipeline is becoming a huge debate in Congress and for environmentalists. But do the pros out-weigh the cons? And could this pipeline help boost America’s economy and help create jobs?

            The Keystone Pipeline has been debated and rejected several times in the last few years. It would help supply the United States with oil that has not been available to us before. This would reduce gas prices significantly and would create a ton of jobs. According to Forbes.com, just the construction of the pipeline would create 42,000 jobs alone. That would help our economy right away but there is a lot more. After the pipeline was constructed almost 140,000 jobs would be needed to look after the pipeline and also run the pipeline. That is enough jobs to fulfill the normal job growth the United States sees in one month which is an amazing statistic. It is obvious that this would help our economy just in the first six month to a year of it being constructed. Also, with more oil running through the United States, we will not have to ship oil from the Middle East or other parts of the world. It would drop gas prices and help alleviate the high prices.

            There are some cons that are associated with the creation of the Keystone Pipeline. The environment could be affected with the construction of the huge pipeline. Keystone would run almost 3,000 miles from the middle of Canada all of the way to the Gulf of Mexico. That is a lot of land to go through and it could cause some problems. This is the biggest reason why this project hasn’t been carried out in the past. President Obama had the chance to enact the project before the 2012 elections. But instead of doing what is right for the nation he believed that his image was more important to environmentalists. I am not saying that the environment is not important because it is but there can always be revisions to make sure the pipeline goes around a lake or a forest so nothing gets damaged or torn down.

            If the pipeline does not get approved soon I believe that the project may never happen. The Keystone Pipeline would not only create jobs but it would boost our economy up even more. President Obama has to swallow his pride. He does not need to impress anybody anymore now that he is in his second term. He should do what is right and that is making sure this project goes through as planned and make sure it goes smoothly. 

Medicare Payouts

Medicare is a huge social reform program that helps millions of elderly people in the United States pay for their health care. Even though this is a good thing some money is being wasted on something that you might not think of. And even though the amount does not seem like a lot in the big picture but that money could go a long way in paying for some program or facility that is for the better good of society.

                FOX News has reported that over $12 million of Medicare payments have been paid out to people who were deceased. Yes, you read that right. These people who have been dead for some time were still getting payments from their Medicare funds. Whether the money was being sent to the families of the deceased family member or the payments were just transferred into the unclosed bank account $12 million is now gone.

                Even though this story sounds quite bazaar it probably happens all the time. Either the mailing process was out of whack or nobody notified the government that the person was dead that should have known to stop giving out the payments. It just goes to show that with over 300 million people living in the United States it is very hard to keep track of every person at any given time. 

Syrian Backup

Ever since the President of Syria started using chemical weapons on his own people the world has been on high alert. A Civil War that has been going on for at least two years seems like it could not get any crazier than it already is. Nobody has made any gains after peace talks were abandoned and fighting did not end. Obviously the United States has backed the rebels throughout the war and the United Nations and other countries around the world have tried to protect innocent people getting caught up in this fight. It seems like this will never end which is probably true but what can the rest of the world do to make sure that democracy wins and the dictatorship ends?

                According to FOX News, the United States has armed the Syrian rebels with a, “small number of advanced weapons.” This is after the peace talks broke down back in January and nothing has been settled in the last couple of months. These weapons include antitank missiles and guns to protect the rebels from the relentless Syrian Army. Until the President of Syria is either overthrown or flees the country there seems to be no way or reason for the rebels and the Syrian Army to stop fighting. This could take a few more years just for some progress to be made. All this is, is a never ending circle of violence that in reality will never be stopped or won without intervention from other first world countries. That is just the tough reality that the Middle East has to go through every single day.

                I would have no problem giving weapons to the rebels, especially when the Syrian Army is as aggressive as they are. But can the United States and President Obama really trust these rebels? Giving weapons to rebel groups has come back to bite us in the past. When Afghanistan was being invaded by the Russians in the 1980’s, the United States gave the Afghanistan people weapons to ward of the attacks. After this was done, the weapons fell into the hands of the very well know extremist group, Al-Qaeda. This not only led to problems in the Middle East but it led to dangers here in the United States. Because of Al-Qaeda the United States has been trying to take back over control of Iraq and Afghanistan for over a decade and they are still a huge threat to society in the Middle East and all over the world. That is what could happen in Syria if the U.S isn’t careful.

                Even though I do believe in helping the rebels somewhat in their ventures, I hope that this time around we are most cautious about whom we are giving these weapons to. Hopefully the Syrian rebels can be trusted and these weapons won’t fall into the wrong hands. If that does become the case we will be looking at another long and hard fight that could just lead to more problems not only in Syria but across the world. The more influence Al-Qaeda has on different societies in the world the more of a threat they cause to the free world and that could lead to a whole new war that could be very destructive.  

No Faith

Trust in President Barack Obama has been going down after his failed launch of ObamaCare and some other factors. Tough times like this always happen sometime or another for every single President that the United States has had. Being distrusted is one thing but being called a liar is another thing. Recent polls have said that a majority of Americans believe that Obama is a flat out liar to the people of the United States. This is something that not only hurt the President but it also hurts the credibility of the entire government in Washington D.C.

            A recent poll done by FOX News has suggested that over 60% of people who were surveyed believed that President Obama, “lied about significant issues,” most of the time. This is not just Republicans that took the vote because if that were the case the number of people who would agree with that statement would have been 100%. But even civilians who side with the Democrats believe that Obama is lying. Just under 40% of Democrats and just over 60% of independents believe this. Being called a moron or idiot is one thing but being labeled as a liar could be the worst thing somebody in politics could be called. Anybody else that has lied about major issues, especially in politics would be fired or forced to resign but why not Obama? I believe this is because he always blames his own issues on his cabinet and his coworkers in Congress and in the White House. Take Kathleen Sebilius for example. All she was trying to do was follow through with what Obama had given her to do. Even though the launch of ObamaCare did not come out very smoothly, Sebilius took all of the blame, not President Obama. This is why he is having all of the problems that he has to deal with that this time.

            President Obama also has nothing to lose. It is not like he can for President in the United States again, so why not give it all he has and hopes it works out right? Wrong. The Presidents job is to make the country better off than when he came into office and this is not being fulfilled under Obama. He is experimenting with different techniques that are not working and it is hurting not only the economy but also he is making people distrust the government and that is the last thing that they need.

            Everything about Barack Obama is sketchy. He has not made any progress in making this nation better and he is inevitably hurting the U.S more than helping. Our debt is not getting smaller and our deficit is not shrinking. Obama might go down for being the worst President of the United States ever and these are the reasons why. He is labeled a liar and he has not followed through with any of his plans. It is hurting our nation and after the 2016 elections conclude we all just need to move on and focus on making this nation bigger and better than ever before. 

Who's to Blame?

With ObamaCare costing almost $1 billion in just a few years you would think that the new program would be a hit and help millions of people who do not have health insurance. But after a rocky launch of the new Health Care website, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, resigned just a few days ago (FOX News). Was this the right move? And was the disastrous launch entirely Sebelius’ fault?

                Even though that Sebelius should have taken some of the blame she defiantly should not have been the main problem in the launch of the ObamaCare website. Obama should also get most of the blame for being a very poor supervisor in the creation of the website. It was President Obama’s idea to launch this health care bill and he should own up to his mistakes too. There has been a trend where Barack has deflected his issues off of other people and will not own up to his own mistakes. He set Sebilius up to fail by not guiding her in the right direction and it came back to hurt the entire Democratic Party who supported ObamaCare. This is really the entire Democratic Party’s fault for backing up a program that was set up to fail in the first place.

                This is where the Republican Party differs from the Democrats. The Republicans try to save spending on things that are vital for the function of the United States but the Democrats seem to fund different programs that not only cost a boat load of money but also hurt the American people. Millions have lost their insurance plans due to ObamaCare after they were promised that they could keep them and were pretty much lied to the American people. It not only hurt President Obama but it hurt the entire Democratic Party. Approval ratings plummeted and it seems like the Republicans are going into this November with a full head of speed and they are all hungry to take back the Senate from the Democrats.

                This entire situation has been a huge mess. American tax dollars have been wasted on one website alone and that money is gone forever. The thing about this is that Obama will face no further consequences after he leaves office in January of 2016 and he will just pass the problems that he created off to the next President of the United States. This will just lead to more problems that we don’t have time to handle and that is what’s scaring me to this day. 

American Pride

Almost a year ago to this day the deadly bombs went off at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. These bombs killed three civilians and injured hundreds more at the finish line of the coveted Boston Marathon. Not only was the tragedy hard to fathom but the fear of people after the two alleged bombers were on the loose. But after a week of searching the two brothers that planned the plot were captured, with one being shot and the other one put into custody. But after a year to recover from the attack the city of Boston has come back stronger than ever and this year’s Boston Marathon will be the biggest and best one that the country has ever seen.

                The city of Boston was reeling for almost a week as the stresses of the loose terrorists were around the surrounding area. After the two terrorists were captured the entire city tried to go back to normal. But the one thing that brought everybody together was the three sports that banded everybody together even before the unfortunate event. It helped mend the entire city and help ease some of the pain. The Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins had their games right after the bombings happened and the turnout was phenomenal. The National Anthem was not only sung by one person on the ice or field but by the entire crowd of people. It really showed how much pride we have as being Americans and that we love this country more than anything on the face of the Earth.

                This event not only brought the city of Boston together but it united the entire country. We took pride in our country and it really shows that even though we go through a lot it never phases us and we come back even stronger than before. That is what’s great about the United States of America and that is why we are the best country in the entire world.  

The First Shots

Tensions are heightening in the troubled nation of Ukraine. The first gun battle between Ukrainian army and a Russian militia began early yesterday and was deadly. FOX News reported that between these fights, five people were killed and many people were wounded during these “battles”. This is the first sign of aggression between the two nations after Russia put troop all along the border of Ukraine and of Russia. With tensions running high a war could break out at any moment and could lead to further action not only by those two countries but also could lead to intervention from countries around the world and the United Nations.
 
Even with sanctions against the nation of Russia, signs of aggression between the two enemy areas keep rising and rising. Ukraine thinks that Russia is trying to overrun the country and take over to expand its already huge country and spread the value of socialism farther west. Russia, on the other hand, is saying that all they are trying to do is protect the humanity of Ukraine and keep them in order. Obviously this is not the case. Russia is always trying to expand and become more powerful and this is a huge opportunity for them to do so. This will not only help Russia spread their ideas of Communism but it will also help gain them more power from other countries. Russia is trying to gain respect and this is the only way in their eyes to get it. It might not be the smoothest of plans but it is defiantly getting other countries like the United States to look at them and show them a bit of respect.
 
          When you really look at the whole picture and why this started it is really Ukraine’s fault. If it was not for revolts in the capital city of Kiev this would never have happened. This revolt led to uncertainty in the Ukrainian government and led to people voting for them to join the nation of Russia as a whole. Russia can use the land of Ukraine as a buffer zone against the more democratic western countries therefore helping their cause out in the long run. There is always some sort of chaos that is folding out in the eastern part of Europe and it will never be contained. It is like the Middle East, if an ideal, like Communism, is still around it will always be an issue. Somebody will always try to advocate for these values and will always cause corruption. It will never be peaceful as long as these bad ideas are still with these people.

Unless other countries get involved to stop Russia this will just be a never ending cycle of violence. Nothing good will ever come out of these corrupted nations and will always be in chaos. It does not matter how hard Ukraine tries to fend off the Russian Army because the Russians are just way to big and strong for the Ukrainians to fight. Sadly we will have to get involved to suppress these issues. Let’s just all hope that we can help stop the aggression and bring back peace and prosperity to the nation of Ukraine.

Identity Theft in America

Taxes are due here in the United States in the next week or so and millions of people are getting tax refunds from the Federal Government. But even though billions are being refunded to credible accounts almost 4 billion dollars’ worth of “bogus” tax refunds are being given to fraudulent accounts around the nation.

            According to FOX News, over 1500 new investigations were opened throughout the year of 2013. That is an increase of almost 70% in just a year (FOX News). Hackers and scammers take get people’s private account through Social Security numbers and then create account in which they can obtain government money during tax season. Identity theft is growing worse and worse as technology gets better. Criminals go to hacking because it is easier to get away with. It is near impossible to track down good hackers and some of this money is not going to be found at all.

            People might think that only certain people can have their identities stolen. This is completely not true. Even high government officials can be targeted in these attacks. A story also written by FOX News tells us that even America’s own Attorney General, Eric Holder, can get his identity stolen. Now the people who tried to get Eric Holder’s information were caught pretty easily which in most cases is not the case.

            Most people find out about identity theft way too late. Unless people have a good grip on where there money is going and who has control of their money or somebody has Life Lock, anybody can have their identity stolen. It could wreck a person’s credit score which would make it very hard for people to get loans to buy a car or a house. It can ruin a person’s life if not handled in the right manor. You can never underestimate the sneakiness of these thieves and you might lose a lot of the things you worked very hard for to get in the first place.

            The first thing a person needs to know about identity theft is that it CAN happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if that person is tall, short, rich, or poor, it can always happen. Also, people need to know how to protect themselves in a case of this happening. Whether it is signing up for a theft prevention company such as Life Lock or some other way people need to protect themselves. If people can remember these things they should be in good shape and not have to worry about the consequences of identity theft. 

Inmates getting Benefits

ObamaCare has helped millions of people get affordable health insurance for them and their families. But now a few states are trying to enroll prison inmates into the health care system to try to help cut costs for the counties and the states around the nation. But is this loophole in the Affordable Health Care Act good for the government and should it be outlawed?

                This loophole found by a few states across the country is a plan to make sure the state does not have to pay for the costs of an inmate being sick. The costs would go back to the federal government and would save states such as Iowa millions of dollars just throughout one year. This could be a very bad thing for President Obama and for Congress as this would add unwanted expenses for taxpayers.

                Personally I believe this should be outlawed. If killers and rapists are getting the same care at no costs to the state it just is not fair. There should be no loophole and it should be voided in the bill. Nothing good will come out of this. States should take responsibility and pay for their inmates and not shoot it back at the government.

                If this is held up, taxpayers will have to most likely pay for these expenses. Even though the people pay for this sort of thing the cost will go up and hurt the economy in the long run. Not only will you be paying for it but it will be paying for inmates who don’t always deserve what other people who can’t afford health insurance. This should be shot down right away to make sure it protects only free citizens in the United States. 

Wanted: Republicans

The United States government is an amazing thing. We were the first country ever to switch power from Republicans and Democrats back in the early 1800’s without any bloodshed and this still happens to this day. Now after several years of Democrats holding the senate a new poll has showed that the American people would rather see Republicans control the House and Senate than Democrats. This is after a very high rise in debt and the rise in our deficit over the last few years. November is a huge time that decides where this nation would like to head and it is all about the power that both the Republicans and Democrats want in our government.

                Democrats and Republicans are the complete opposite of each other. Democrats are big spenders who want more of a bigger government. Republicans on the other hand are conservatives who want to cut spending and have a smaller government. But right now with debt being high and our economy just getting on its feet again after the recession in 2008, it seems like Republicans would be the way to go. Spending cuts would start to somewhat take a bit out of our outrageously high debt. It would also get our deficit to lower numbers and thus help our economy start booming again.

                Republicans also would cut back on unemployment benefits and other benefits. This may not seem like a good idea but it will cut costs and make people go out and find a job. Democrats are huge into extending these benefits and it has cost the taxpayers more than what we have gotten from these programs. Also, like I have said in previous blog posts we need to stop spending our money in a useless fashion. This money that we save can either go towards reducing our debt or go back to the people in some way, shape, or form. It will benefit not just the lower class citizens but it will benefit everybody in the United States.

                A shift in power is nothing new in America. We can see it every two years in Congress and every four years during the Presidential Elections. Sometimes change is good for people and will help more people around the country. With cuts to our spending and our deficit we can build up the economy once again to be even better than it was before the recession. Democrats have showed they cannot get it done so it is now time for Republicans to show what they can do and prove they are best fit to run our nation. 

Close to War

With the Crimea crisis under way in Eastern Europe many people are thinking that not only is the Ukrainian army going to war but the United States might as well. This could lead to even more chaos that the world does not need. It will affect the world economy and will threaten national security all over the world. So would this even be a good idea for Russia to invade Ukraine and take over? For Russia it might be a good thing but for the rest of the globe it could be catastrophic.

 

            Russia has been threatening to take over Ukraine ever since uprisings in Kiev has led to chaos in the eastern corner of Europe. Not only has it been stressful for the people for people of Ukraine but it has put pressure on the United States and all of the major third world powers. Sanctions have been put in place by the United States and by the United Nations. If Russia does in fact invade and take over Ukraine it might turn in to a full blown war in Europe and could impact the world in ways we haven’t seen before.

 

            Even though sanctions have been put in place it really does no good for the most part. Russia is going to do what they think is best for themselves and try to carry its power further west. Right now there are 40,000 Russian troops on the border of Ukraine. This is just a ticking time bomb. Once one soldier crosses over into Ukrainian territory it will be hell. A war between the two nations will lead to many casualties and will lead to retaliation by the United States. Even though the U.S is most likely going to help out Ukraine it is just going to lead to more problems for us. This has nothing to do with us. No Americans have been killed, injured, or captured so there is no point for us to get involved.

           

            The main reason the United States doesn’t want Russia to expand is because of power. The more Putin expands the more influence he has on these broken countries. It goes back to the Cold War days where the United States wanted to contain Communism just too a few places. The more Russia expands the more Communism expands as well. This is the last thing that America wants. We want to promote democracy and that is what we will do if this happens to become a war. We do not want Russia to become any more powerful than they are now and the only country that can halt the Russians is the United States and we will do anything possible to make sure that we come out triumphant and leave the Russians in a desperate position.