Archive for the 'Government' Category

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Mexico proposes 2-year marriage contract

By: ann.taylor, October 7, 2011 in Government and News. Closed Tags: , , .

Has it been 24 months already!?

‘Till death do us part…unless of course two years down the road we decide to call it quits.’ That could very well be the attitude of citizens in Mexico who are talking marriage if the proposed legislation passes that will allow married couples the option to sign a marriage contract that is only valid for two years. With almost 50% of couples in Mexico City ending in divorce, and a large majority of these divorces happening within the first 24 months, this seems like a fairly logical solution. Why continue to put money in the pockets of divorce lawyers who feed off of the failed marriages of others? But on the flip side, with divorce rates so high, why would a country want to almost encourage the idea that marriage is no longer a lifelong commitment and divorce truly is the norm.

Call me crazy, but I was raised to believe that marriage was a sacred union between two people who planned on spending the rest of their lives together.  Now, I understand that times have changed and that the US divorce rate is frequently reported at around 50%, yet I still cannot fathom a law being passed that gives people a cop out after just two years. True, this contract would almost wipe out the ‘messy’ parts of a divorce. Predetermining who gets the kids, the house, the car, etc. would take out a lot of the heartache and unnecessary fighting that so often comes with splitting up, but that still doesn’t make it right.

Thankfully, this legislation is only being discussed in Mexico, but the United States isn’t one shy away from adopting a law from another country that seems to be working. So, that leaves us with this question – if this legislation was being proposed in America, would we pass it?

USPS Looking for Bailout

By: ann.taylor, September 6, 2011 in Government and News. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Is a life without mail any life at all? This is a question you may have to ask yourself after the USPS announced that given the rate of declining first-class mail volume it will be broke by early next year. According to the NY Times, since mail volume has dropped 22% from five years ago, the Postal Service is lobbying Congress for multiple cuts and program changes; among these is the approval to discontinue Saturday mail delivery. The USPS once had pride in their service and adopted the phrase, “neither snow, nor rain, not heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”, originally coined by Herodotus, to describe their commitment to delivery. However, these days it seems that a little bit of snow and ice can stop delivery, and mail was once delivered twice a day, or a dozen times a week, back before the 1950s.

The Postal Service’s current fiscal year ends on September 30, so unless Congress enacts legislation this month to eliminate programs to save the USPS $5.5 billion annually and allow them to cut back on deliveries, then a world without your friendly neighborhood mailman is fast approaching.

So, what does this really mean? These days most packages are being delivered by UPS or FedEx, and many people are receiving their bills online. Does the idea of the USPS going under really raise concerns with a large number of people, or are people more concerned with the ease in which companies and organizations are asking the government for a bailout?

It might be time to say 'adios' to your neighborhood mailman

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Found Guilty of Trying to Sell Obama’s Senate Seat in Retrial

By: Zack Stovall, June 27, 2011 in Government. 1 Comment Tags: , .

Rod Blagojevich

Our long national sideshow is over, or so it seems today.

A grand jury convicted former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich of 17 counts of corruption out of 20. Blago was accused of trying to sell then-President-elect Barack Obama’s empty Senate seat to the highest bidder. Of those charges pertaining to Obama’s old seat, nine were wire fraud counts. Other charges included conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion and conspiracy to solicit a bribe.

The maximum amount of time Blagojevich faces in federal prison is 300 years. No typo there, that’s three hundred years, although sentencing will likely be substantially less than 300. However, it is possible that Blago could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The former Governor of Illinois narrowly avoided conviction last summer as  jurors in his first trial convicted him of lying to the FBI. There was a hung jury on 23 other charges, leading  U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to re-try Blagojevich. Blago faces five years in prison for that initial charge.

Pretty small shoes for the current Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn to fill: “Just don’t get convicted and possibly sentenced to 300 years in the federal pokey.” GOT IT.

National Day of Prayer Today Opens Conversation Between Government and Religion

By: Zack Stovall, May 5, 2011 in Government and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Today marks the 60th annual National Day of Prayer. Across the country, elected officials will participate with their constituents in a number of different religious ceremonies of various faiths, including Christianity (both Protestants and Catholics), Islam and Judaism. Traditionally, the President has given a message, calling for the nation to collectively keep the country and its various branches and arms, both at home and abroad, in its thoughts and prayers.

Discussions of religion from duly-elected state officials opens the floodgates of debate between those wary of the potential of state-sponsored religion and those who embrace it. In the First Amendment to the Constitution (one of the first ten amendments comprising the Bill of Rights), the Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing any such state sponsored religion, such as England had created through the Anglican Church. Many feel that such statements made from these statements of prayer support violate this clause, indirectly creating a state-sponsored religion.

While the day of prayer is not a national holiday, or required to be practiced or even recognized, many feel that since a vast majority of the American constituency is Judeo-Christian, it should be. Political cycles ebb and flow with arguments persuading both sides of the aisle. Politicians are often mindful of the religious climate of their constituency, often to the point of adjusting their rhetoric to reflect this climate (e.g., a politician may quote Christian scripture while campaigning in the South, yet claim no religious practice when asked in another area). “Value voters,” those whose vote is dictate on the sole basis of social agendas in politics, are often religiously-motivated and can be the turning point in some elections.

While a state-sponsored religion does not seem to be in the immediate future (or be an immediate threat, depending on your view point), both sides can agree that the conversation will continue so long as America continues to be as religiously diverse and inviting as it has been since its foundation, a feature that everyone looks at as a unique credit to our country.

Osama Bin Laden, 9/11 Mastermind, Killed By American Forces in Pakistan

By: Zack Stovall, May 2, 2011 in Government and Passings. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Osama Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden, leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, FBI’s Most Wanted, mastermind behind the terrorist attacks of the September 11th attacks, has been killed by American forces within a compound 35 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan.

The surprise announcement was made in the waning hours of Sunday night, when President Barack Obama scheduled an impromptu, late night press conference in the East Room of the White House, on an undisclosed topic. As speculation began to mount about what had transpired, news outlets began confirming the death of Public Enemy No. 1 before the President made a short address, announcing some of the specifics behind the military action taken, while also calling for the country to be as unified as it had been in the hours following the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the plane crash in Shanksville, Penn.

According to Obama, intelligence had been gathered since the beginning of last fall about the compound in Abbottabad, an affluent suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. A team of highly trained Navy Seals infiltrated the base, killing five others along with Bin Laden. No Americans were injured in the operation.

As news began to spread on sundry social media outlets, celebrations began to spill out into the streets. Along Pennsylvania Avenue, a large crowd gathered at the gates of the White House, chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” and breaking into verses of the Star Spangled Banner. At Ground Zero, the site of the terrorist attacks in New York City, crowds were also embracing one another, celebrating the death of the man who had taken so much from them and the rest of the country nearly a decade ago.

President Obama called President George W. Bush, sitting President during the attacks in 2001, to give him the news personally. As Bush had promised at the rubble in New York City, and Obama declared almost ten years later, “justice has been done.”

Something Something Royal Wedding Something Something Radiant Bride Something Something

By: Zack Stovall, April 29, 2011 in Celebrities, Government, News and Television. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

You know, you wait for this day for years and years, thinking of what you're going to say and when it finally comes...oh, just a loss for words. Am I right?

The big day has arrived. Finally. William and Kate. The Royal Wedding. Bedlam in the streets of the world. Little common girl (I guess?) marries Prince Charming. THEY WRITE FAIRY TALES ABOUT THIS STUFF AND DISNEY MAKES MILLIONS OFF IT, OKAY? IT’S A BIG DEAL.

Wedding-mania indeed swept the entire globe over the past week. In the colonies United States, people woke up at 3:00 and 4:00 am to watch all of the pageantry of the occasion, as it was broadcast on several reputable network television stations, and E! as well.

The wedding evoked images of another royal wedding set over thirty years ago by Prince Charles and the late mother of Prince William, Princess Diana of Wales. Tragically, her life was cut short by a paparazzi-fleeing car crash in Paris, yet the happy images of this royal wedding seem to invite warmer memories in her name.

As per tradition, the Queen of England bestowed both Prince William and Kate with titles, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well giving William the titles of Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus (which Kate also received when they were married). That’s right. Baron Carrickfergus. “THANKS GRANDMA!”

Sadly, the pageantry has concluded, and now we’re left with only the fond memories therein. I guess Prince Harry is still around, but everyone seems pretty convinced that if he marries at all, there will be multiple marriages and almost all of them the product of a last-minute eloping at a bar in the European equivalent of Las Vegas. Or, heck, just plain old Las Vegas.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Cleared to Attend Astronaut Husband’s Shuttle Launch

By: Zack Stovall, April 25, 2011 in Government, Medicine and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Wonder Woman

If the phrase “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” holds true, expect Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) to start bench pressing cars any day now.

The Congresswoman, who was brutally attacked in January 8, 2011 by a lone gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, has been rehabilitating since the assassination attempt in Houston, Texas. While holding a meet-and-greet at a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona’s state capitol, Loughner opened fire, shooting Giffords directly in the head, killing nine others while injuring several before being subdued. Numerous reports coming from the the day of the incident first claimed that Giffords has been so severely injured that she had died, however her status was later clarified as critical condition.

Slowly, Giffords began to show small signs of improvement. While still in critical condition and a medically-induced coma, she began to show signs of understanding, including gripping her husband’s hand, moving her eyes make making small gestures. The initial prognosis from doctors was grim, some doubting that she would ever walk again, others that she would even live through the rehabilitation. Giffords has been improving at a miraculous rate, beginning to engage in conversation, stand on her own and even walk around.

In fact, doctors say she is doing so well, she plans to be able to attend the shuttle launch of her astronaut husband, Mark E. Kelly. Kelly is the commander of the space shuttle Endeavor, and is scheduled to launch this Friday, with his wife and President Barack Obama on hand to watch the shuttle’s final mission.

Boehner and Obama Compromise to Avoid Government Shutdown, Will Resume Verbal Attacks Shortly

By: Zack Stovall, April 11, 2011 in Government and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Government shutdown, as of 10:59 PM EST on Friday evening, seemed inevitable, as House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama seemed unable to agree on which cuts would be made to the 2011 fiscal budget. Without such an agreement, Congress would be unable to appropriate funds to the various arms of the government, such as salary payment for soldiers, etc. Then, as the clock dwindled to under an hour before the 12:01 deadline, a short-term compromise was reached, staving off the shutdown and allowing the next steps for long-term budget reconciliation.

Did you ever read those old comic books, or see those old shows, in which the good guys and their enemies had to begrudgingly team up against a common enemy? Like Magneto and Professor X, or Batman and the Joker*? That’s sort of what this was like. And the common enemy between the two parties was everyone hating both their guts for not being able to get a deal done and let the government come to a grinding halt.

House Speaker Boehner, representing a caucus that demanded no cuts in the defense budget but cut funding for several government programs, was able to slash roughly $38.5 billion in cuts, while President Obama was able to keep funding for such programs as Planned Parenthood, while making several cost-cutting measures for defense.

Naturally, Republicans and Democrats each feel cheated now that the shutdown has been avoided and their ears turn back to their vocal constituency. Liberal Democrats clamor that the President gave too much away in government programs to reach a deal, and conservative Republicans, who feel they had to “drag Obama to the discussion,” feel like Boehner compromised conservative principles in the name of bartering an agreement.

It seems that, with the next issue being adjusting the debt ceiling and hearing other deficit reducing proposal, Politics will continue to be Politics, and the mudslinging will commence even before the dust has settled on this new found compromise.

* I’m not a nerd, comic books were are awesome. You’re a nerd.

President Obama Announces Wave of Political Campaign Commercials for 2012 Bid

By: Zack Stovall, April 6, 2011 in Government and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Barack Obama on Time Magazine

Obama Campaigning Begins Again

President Barack Obama, our nation’s 44th president, announced over the weekend his intention to run again for a second term as the nation’s commander in chief and chief executive. While this comes as no surprise – only Lyndon Baines Johnson has chosen to not seek re-election, and there were plenty of other odd things about him – the timing of it is indicative of a trend sure to make advertising account executives salivate and everyone else groan: it’s campaign season yet again!

When the Founding Fathers were drafting the pillars of our government in the Constitutional Convention, they established the various branches of government with different re-election periods: The House is re-elected every two years, the Executive Branch (President) every four years, and the Senate every six years. There are more House members, fewer Senators, and only one President, and these varying lengths of terms were designed to make some members more sensitive to their constituents, and others less sensitive so they could focus on “bigger picture” issues surrounding the safety of the country without having to worry about re-election being right around the corner.

This also insured we, the public, wouldn’t have to endure endless political seasons. Then that internet thing came around and messed all that up. Geez, I mean, what’s the internet done for you lately?

With the advent of 24-hour news stations, like Fox and MSNBC, and social media-equipped internet users, politicians are having to start earlier and earlier to get their message out and in front of as many faces as they possibly can, whether those faces want them to or not. Now primary campaigns are just as virulent as ordinary elections; yard signs, street signs, and decals are everywhere, and the full on mudslinging of the political process begins a full two years before the elections even happen.

By the time November 2012 rolls around, Barack Obama could very well be naming his choice for the nomination for Democratic candidate for the Presidency of 2016.

The Search for the Perfect Bracket

By: Suzanne Obszanski, March 11, 2011 in Government, Politics, Sports and Television. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

This weekend, CBS will host its annual NCAA Basketball Selection Show effectively kicking off 3 glorious weeks of college basketball madness, that is, 3 glorious weeks huddled around the television with a bracket in my hand, a cold beer, a highlighter and a red pen (the highlighter for games I guessed correctly and red pen for those I didn’t).  It is 3 glorious weeks watching dynasty teams and dramatic underdog stories come to fold.

By the end of the first round of the NCAA tournament, most Americans have already messed up their brackets.

It’s also, I assume, 3 weeks where there’s a dramatic dip in work productivity nationwide.  I once worked at a place where so many employees were streaming live coverage of the NCAA tournament on their computers, the server crashed.  So how many viewers actually tune in to watch the tournament?  Estimates show that in 2007, 132.7 million people tuned in to watch some portion of the NCAA tournament. I mean, I get that not everyone is a sports fan, but people are, apparently, really big fans of winning money.

The FBI, who apparently has nothing better to do, estimates that Americans will wager more than $2.5 billion on who’s going to win it all.  And because I love numbers so much, here are some more:

  • 45% of the population plans to enter at least one pool
  • 20% plan to enter 3 or more
  • Over ½ of those people plan to wager $20 or more

Last year, President Obama even filled out a bracket, and for much of the “big dance”, his picks were in the top 12% nationwide.  How will you fare this year?

Strap on your fancy pants people and let’s dance!