Safe To Eat?

Right now, food-borne illnesses are rapidly increasing in the U.S. In 2006 there was a huge outbreak of E. coli from bagged spinach produced in California. This outbreak killed 3 people and 200 were made ill. Americans are trying to be healthier which is leading to more consumption of vegetables and fruit. However, when the produce is eaten raw, it leads to more bacterial infections. When many of these cases were happening people started to blame the FDA for not regulating the release of the food in the correct way. The FDA has allowed the industry to be self regulated therefore people believed this issue could have been avoided. Some people also think that there should be one agency in charge of America's food safety, yet others feel that plan would threaten businesses.

In my opinion, after these cases were coming about so rapidly why wouldnt the FDA get the hint that they need to step in and do something? i think that after 200 sick and 3 dead in one situation would be a big enough issue for them to change something. I think that the one agency idea is a good one. that way one orginization is dedicated to the safety of produce and can focus on that entirely. If the distributers were left in charge they may do anything to just make money meaning it would be risky for the sanitation of the food. Megan Johnson also agrees that food needs to be more regulated.

ISSUE #1 -Comprehensive vs. Incremental Health Care Reform.-Olivia Rice's Blog

Issue #2 - Ensuring Quality Care For Medicare Patients.-Aaron Rentschler

7th person arrested in gang rape

7th person arrested in gang rape
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 3 November 2009, 10:40 PM
Anyone on this site

There were seven people that took part in the gang rape that took outside of a highschool in northern California. The 7th person has currently been leaving 3 to go out of the alleged 10 that are said to have participated in this crime. There were said to be approximately 10 witnesses that took no action in calling the police while this was taking place. the victim, who was in critical condition, was released from the hospital the next day. The parents of the victim ask for help to find ways to prevent things like this from happening.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/california.gang.rape/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Aside from this poor girl getting raped, the thing that upsets me the most about this story is that there was multiple witnesses and not one of them was able to dial 911 and help this victim. i dont know how someone could just stand and watch someone being beaten and raped by multiple people and being left for dead. it sickens me to think that, and i am disgusted that there are boys who gang up to rape an innocent girl. something needs to be done to help prevent these things from happening, but its just frustrating when something could have been done, but people couldnt stop and call for help.

Coroner says 6 women whose bodies were found at home died violently

Coroner says 6 women whose bodies were found at home died violently
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 1 November 2009, 10:29 PM
Anyone on this site

Six women were pronounced dead in the home of Anothony Sowell on Saturday October 31st in Cleveland, Ohio. Sowell had been previously convicted of being a sex offender and served time for 15 years starting in 1990. After a woman had accused him of rape, the police requested a search warrent and arrest of Sowell and him home. Six bodies were found, five were inside in make shift grave, and the other was buried outside. It is said many of his victims appear to have been strangled to death, and the bodies could have been in the house for up to years, it is unsure.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/31/ohio.cleveland.bodies/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

It is both surprising and upsetting that six women have been missing for a long period time, and noone had any idea what happened to them. Or furthermore that they have no idea how long there bodies have been sitting in this guy's house. Sowell was a convicted sex offender and was in jail for 15 years. i do not think he should have just been released and let on the go without paroll. noone bothered to check up on him, and for that six death women laid in his house. i feel that this is a story that could have been somehow prevented, or even discovered faster with the proper actions being taken.

UConn to honor slain football player at game

UConn to honor slain football player at game
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 25 October 2009, 10:13 PM
Anyone on this site

Jasper Howard, who is the cornerback foor Uconn, was found last Saturday stabbed to death. That night, there had been a dance taking place when fire alarm suddenly went off. Everyone in the building, all of 300 people evacuated and crowded outside to wait in the parking lot. Two groups then broke out in a fight at the scene, which resulted in Howard along with another guy, being stabbed. Howard was then airlifted to St. Francis Hospital where he died later on. the case is still being investigated by Uconn police and Connecticut Police. It is difficult because they have no suspects but they do not think it was unplanned. Howard was a well liked guy, this crime is a puzzling one.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/18/connecticut.football.stabbing/index.html?eref=rss_topstories#cnnSTCText

This is a very sketchy situation to me. Howard seemed to be a good, respected guy. it is very confusing to me why he would be murdered, it just doesnt make sense. It is a little frustrating that there wasnt witnesses that helped the police and they are going almost off of nothing to find this killer. Its sad to think that they are out there and got away with this and now a team, family, and pregnant woman are missing a loved one. I would have to agree with Claire http://claireilliesblog.blogspot.com/ as well as Olivia http://oliviarice.blogspot.com/ that this has to be hard for all of these people. Jasper was a great player and they will miss him and his talent, as well as him family and a little baby who will miss the opportunity to meet their daddy. i hope as well as Claire does that all will be done to have justice served.

Baby survives after falling under train

Baby survives after falling under train
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 16 October 2009, 09:35 PM
Anyone on this site

Last Thursday, A six-month old baby lives after his stroller rolled infront of the tracks of train coming to the station. It was captured CCTV and the tape shows that the baby's mother let go of the stroller momentarily. The stroller rolled over the platform and almost right after a train rolls into the station. The stroller with the baby inside rolled 33 yards on the train tracks until it came to a stop. But the baby was thankfully alright and come out of it with just a cut on his forehead. The baby was given back to his mother and she then took him to Melbourne's Royal Children's hospital, and was discharged quickly after. Victoria State Police Sergeant Micheal Ferwerda says that parents need to be vigilant especially with toddlers.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/16/australia.baby.train.escape/index.html

this is an unbelievable story. i cannot believe that little baby survived something like that. it was truly a miracle. it just shows that parents need to be so much more aware because something like that can happen so quickly you hardly have time to do anything about it, and chances are you wont always be that lucky. im sure the mother of that baby cannot begin to fathom how extremely lucky she was that her child lived through that experience. im sure that will be a story told the rest of his life.

Cabinet officials, Chicagoans discuss ways to end teen violence

Cabinet officials, Chicagoans discuss ways to end teen violence
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 11 October 2009, 08:57 PM
Anyone on this site

Last Wednesday, a meeting took place between Cabinet officials and Chicago leaders and a group of teens that went to school with street fight victim Derrion Albert. He was a 16-year-old honors student from Chicago who was found on a cell phone videotape brutally beaten to death last month. The nation's top law enforcement official said that it is an American problem now. a poll released last Wednesday by the Department of Justice tells us that 60 percent of youth has been exposed to violence as well as nearly 50 percent being assaulted along with more than one in ten have been injured as a result. Richard Daley, the chicago mayor, told reporters that he wants to see more adults become mentors for kids and he would like to see more opportunities being made available for students after school and on Saturdays.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/07/chicago.violence/

Hearing this news is a very troubling for me because i feel like we are not exposed this extent of violence. Something like what happened to Derrion is very tragic and I cannot believe that a honor student such as him who would be innocently targeted and beaten to death. I am relieved and happy to hear that something is being done and attention is being paid to this issue as it should be. Kids shouldnt have to be afraid when they are walking in the street that there is a chance they could get beaten or in Derrions case, killed. Something needs to be done about it, and hopefully the ideas that are being worked on will carry out.

Obama: Nobel Peace Prize is "call to action"

Obama: Nobel Peace Prize is 'call to action'
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 10 October 2009, 08:17 PM
Anyone on this site

President Barack Obama was anounced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Just 8 months into his presidency, he is given this award and it was a big suprise to many people, including the President himself, though he was very humbled and honored. The committee honors him for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." He has been making huge efforts to bring peace to different parts of the world by traveling and meeting with other leaders, including trying to stop Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs. Many people are hoping the conflicts of Afghanistan, and Iraq will be resolved due to Obama winning this award. Obama is one of four presidents to being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and he plans on donating 1.4 million of it to charity.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html?eref=rss_politics

I think this award was rightfully given to our President, and thoughts of being awarded to him prematurely are wrong. Though, I am just as surprised as Obama that he won it. Obama has been making a great effort for the good of the country to make peace and fix relationships that have been struggling. I hope just as anyone that this does help the president continue to rid the world of nuclear weapons and bring back the peace we have been missing for quite some time now. Though i feel he is doing well and working hard, he still has a lot of work to do. It is a great honor to win this award, and let's hope we can see down the road that he was the right person to win it.

ACORN chief says videos 'made my stomach turn'
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 8 October 2009, 07:48 PM
Anyone on this site

ACORN is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. it is an orginization to help low income families. in this article, Bertha Lewis, the chief executive officer, defends the group at a national press club. the orginization had been making tapes about how to start a prostitution business with foreign girls. She said the videos made her stomach churn, and that they were handling the situation correctly by firing the people in the video. She also thinks the group is being targeted because of it's voter registration efforts.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/06/acorn.press.club/index.html


In my opinion, this is something that should not take place under any circumstances with a group such as this. An organization that handles such important problems shouldn't be involved with scandals such as these. Advising the production of illegal businesses should be the farthest away from this, but i am glad that Lewis took was smart and fired them. Having people in that kind of organization would be a decreasing factor. Hopefully Lewis can steer this group back onto the right track and clear up this mess.

ACORN chief says videos 'made my stomach turn'
by Caitlin Canavati - Wednesday, 8 October 2009, 07:48 PM
Anyone on this site

ACORN is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. it is an orginization to help low income families. in this article, Bertha Lewis, the chief executive officer, defends the group at a national press club. the orginization had been making tapes about how to start a prostitution business with foreign girls. She said the videos made her stomach churn, and that they were handling the situation correctly by firing the people in the video. She also thinks the group is being targeted because of it's voter registration efforts.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/06/acorn.press.club/index.html


In my opinion, this is something that should not take place under any circumstances with a group such as this. An organization that handles such important problems shouldn't be involved with scandals such as these. Advising the production of illegal businesses should be the farthest away from this, but i am glad that Lewis took was smart and fired them. Having people in that kind of organization would be a decreasing factor. Hopefully Lewis can steer this group back onto the right track and clear up this mess.

Spending What We Can Afford

Today, our country is more than 8 trillion dollars in debt, and we keep adding to that debt everytime we spend. To try and fix this problem, Congress passed a pay-as-you-go budgeting system in 2007 requiring that all increases or tax cuts in entitlement spending be offset with spending reductions elsewhere. Supporters of "paygo" say that this system is the perfect way to respond to the people's concern of the continuously rising national debt. they think it will make congress follow the rule that most families and businesses have to follow which is "spend what you can afford." Proponents also point out that "paygo" can be suspended, for example in case of crisis. Opponents, however, claim that this program will only create more taxes for new programs and hurt the economy and Americans in general. There is also a fear that in an emergency, Congress's ability to respond will be restricted. On top of that, the opposers also feel that the tax increases will anger voters.

Although i feel it is ridiculous that our country is in this much debt, i have to wonder if the paygo plan would actually work. From the general purpose of it, it seems like a good plan to help the nation get out of the massive debt it's gotten in to. We need to find a way to start getting out of that debt, but the issue with taxes is a big concern. If this program started raising taxes, the voters would not be happy with those congressmen. If the program could work without increases taxes dramatically then I agree with it and think it would be a beneficial program to help out the Congress. I don't see how we are able to spend all this money that we don't have, and we won't be able to pay it back especially if we keep adding to it as fast as we are. Obama is calling for this "pay as you go" plan. The president said the principle is simple: Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar somewhere else.

"War Dollars" is discussed on Paul's Blog.

"Social Insecurity" is discussed on Marit's Blog.

Obama's Afghanistan Dilemma

Obama's Afghanistan dilemma
by Caitlin Canavati - Sunday, 4 October 2009, 11:17 AM
Anyone on this site

The U.S. President Barack Obama is facing a big dilemma right now over the strategy planned for Afghanistan. While he was running for president, Obama called the fight against Afghanistan a "war of necessity" and that the our invasion into Iraq was a diversion and we needed to withdrawl. The president has already sent 20,000 more troops to Afghanistan and now the general there is saying there is a possibility of failure and that he wants an additional 40,000 sent to him. One of the reasons for this dilemma is the American's support slipping away. Polls show that 58% of the public oppose this war, making it harder for the president to make a decision, yet he campaigned to win this war in Afghanistan and the Rebublicans are reminding him of that.

In my opinion, Obama is right about the war in Iraq being a diversion. I agree with him that we need to withdraw from Iraq and take care of things in Afghanistan. The taliban was responsible for the terrorist attack on 9/11 and we need to finish the job there. Obama promised not to lose there so i think he needs to follow up with that promise and win. i think if the general needs more troops then the troops in Iraq should go to Afghanistan and help fight and not send in 40,000 more.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/02/mann.obama.afghanistan/index.html