April 30 - Bush's Immigration Concern

President Bush has openly solicited the support of congress in tackling the growing issue of illegal immigrants residing in the United States. It has been evident that the swelling number of illegally residing people in the state has been an issue that has haunted the nation for the past years.

April 27 - Terrorist Recruitment

I saw a video earlier this week about how the terrorists recruit other people to join their groups. The groups use the internet and various chat rooms in order to teach other people and persuade others to join their terrorist groups. They have many different videos and tutorials in order to teach viewers how to be suicide bombers or how to get involved in other terrorist activities.

Many organizations have started to go undercover in order to try and put an end to these websites and terrorist organizations. I think it is scary and even disgusting to see how easy it is for people to get involved in such violent actions. This is similar to the Virginia Tech Massacre, because sites like these have made it acceptable for people to be violent and detrimental to the lives of others.

April 26 - South Carolina Democratic Debates

Tonight, MSNBC and South Carolina State University hosted the first 2008 presidential candidates debate. NBC's Brian Williams was he moderator while Snator Hilary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, former Senator John Edwards, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Joe Biden, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and former Senator Mike Gravel took the stage in order to debate their policies.

There were not real big surprises. Hilary Clinton was well prepared and vocal to answer all the questions. While on the other end, Barack Obama seemed rather hesitant in his commentary.

April 25 - Giuliani's 9/11 talk

On Tuesday night, Republican presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani made comments that if the Democrats come to power, we could risk being vulnerable to another terrorist attack. These comments outraged Democratic candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama who both issued comments criticizing Giuliani.

These comments are rather surprising seeing that the Republican party was in power when the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place. Giuliani claimed that “America will be safer with a Republican president.” We have to realize that whoever wins, America has to take peaceful steps so to release the tension in the Middle East.

April 24 - Congress To Bring The Troops Home

Congress has brought forth the resolution to bring home the troops by October 1st. Their bill creates the time table to bring the troops back from Iraq since this endless war puts Bush's reputation on the line. President Bush has spoken about vetoing congresses actions if the troops have not yet finished what they went to Iraq to achieve. In some opinions, this would actually be a valid action because it could leave some Republicans with an incomplete feeling. This may result in the troops being sent back out in the future. However, since nothing has really been accomplished in the two years that the troops have been stationed in Iraq, Congress' decision has been long awaited. America has already attempted to rebuild Iraq and has done everything they can. But at this point, Iraq's civil wars can not be resolved with U.S. aid. The Iraqi issue is internal and should be resolved within the country.

April 23 - McCain's Reckless Actions

Presidential candidate John McCain's outrageous "song" last Thursday rose some eyebrows. Many came to realize that the United States can not afford to have another reckless president. Only in his campaign, McCain has already made some surprising comments. His campaign has been staggering in recent weeks but McCain says that his critics should "just get a life".

MoveOn.org has released ads about McCain's recklessness. However, this comes expectedly from the most liberal interest group.

April 20 - Is This A Joke?!?!

As an Iranian-American, I was completely shocked to see that John McCain would sing bomb Iran to the tune of the Beach Boys song... I pretty much don't know what to say. Although this was taken as a joke, I was very offended to see such a serious matter taken so lightly. I don't think that a bombing and war is something to be taken as a joke.

April 19 - Bush on Darfur

Yesterday, President George Bush warned the Sudanese President that the United States would increase sanctions if the efforts to bring peace to Sudan did not show effective. Bush continued to assert that the situation in Darfur is classified as a "genocide" which would need to come to an end soon.

"It is evil [what] we're now seeing in Sudan and we're not going to back down," Bush said. "No one can doubt that genocide is the only word for what is happening in Darfur and that we have a moral obligation to stop it."

These responses are a result to American disappointment of Bush for not doing anything sooner to help the situation in Sudan.

April 18 - Candidates on the Abortion Ruling

Today the Supreme Court made the decision to uphold the nationwide ban on the partial-birth abortion. Each of the candidates made statements about the decision. The republican candidate's responses varied greatly between the candidates. McCain and Giuliani's responses vary drastically, as McCain strongly opposes abortion except in rape or incest cases, while Giuliani may disagree but believes it is the woman's decision.

Mr. McCain:

Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children. It also clearly speaks to the importance of nominating and confirming strict constructionist judges who interpret the law as it is written, and do not usurp the authority of Congress and state legislatures. As we move forward, it is critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of life.

Mr. Giuliani:

The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion. I agree with it.

Mr. Romney:

Today, our nation’s highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency. This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democrat:

This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman’s right to choose and recognized the importance of women’s health. Today’s decision blatantly defies the Court’s recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.

John Edwards, a Democrat:

I could not disagree more strongly with today’s Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake - starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman’s right to choose.

Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat:

I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman’s medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman’s right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women.

April 17 - Events Cancelled in Respect of VT

Yesterday should have been just another Monday where presidential candidates continue to with their campaigns. But it wasn't. The Virginia Tech Massacre led to the cancellation of fund-raisers and various events. Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney were among those who canceled their events. Some candidates helped to organize memorials as well as speaking about necessary gun-control options. Many others have also spoke out about the tragic events.

It makes me think... what has been done since Columbine to prevents massacres like this from happening. What do we need to do in order to educate people so that we do not have to face such devastating events every year.

After such events, there are typically many cases of copy-cats. Just hours after the massacre, numerous confused students ran away with armed with guns. This has scared so many schools and has also resulted in many schools remaining closed due to a fear of other copy-cat killers.

April 16 - Virginia Tech Massacre

Today was just a normal day until you turned on the news or went online to any homepage. Virginia Tech University had "The worst tragedy and shooting in U.S. history". Schools throughout the nation took the time to speak about the devastating event that resulted in the death of 33 individuals. Seung-Hui Cho, a Korean English student was responsible for the shootings. Cho made the effort to send his own image as well as a video to NBC studios today.
All the political candidates have made comments about gun control and the tragedy.

April 13 - Hilary knocks the Bush Administration

Hilary Clinton threw some hits at the Bush administration in New Hampshire today. Mrs. Clinton spoke up about the inefficiency of the government. Although her talks were rhetorical, they were blatantly aimed at the current administration. Clinton went off about various topics which ranged from how the Hurricane Katrina situation was handled, to the controversy over fired U.S. Attorneys, to no-bid contracting in Iraq. She described the administration as "a stunning record of cronysm and corruption, incompetence and deception" that had "shaken the faith of many Americans in our government"

April 12 - McCain on War

Yesterday, presidential candidate John McCain delivered a speech in defense of the war in Iraq. McCain has been struggling to rejuvenate his sinking campaign. He made the statement that the current war is 'necessary and just'. He believed that those in opposition of the war were being reckless and inconsiderate of the reasons we are in war. He consoled the people: "I understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war. I sympathize with the fatigue of the American people," he told cadets at the Virginia Military Institute. "But I also know the toll a lost war takes on an army and a country. It is the right road."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041100203.html

April 11 - Political Media in 2008

It's amazing the effect websites such as YouTube and MySpace have had on the youth of the country in the first few years of their establishment. Already, MySpace has added pages addressing political candidates as well as political messages to get across. The youth who are on MySpace daily can go online and register to vote on a site to their convenience rather than searching and visiting an unfamiliar site. The political candidates have each made their own site as well in order to educate the public on their positions and to get their message across.

Visit the site to learn more about the registration process as well as the political candidate pages:
http://www.impact.myspace.com
http://www.myspace.com/declareyourself

April 10 - More Troops!!!

It was announced today that the Pentagon will send four National Guard brigades to Iraq as well as extending the time five active-duty Army brigades by as much as four months. Our country is straining to find enough troops to occupy Iraq while this devastating war has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. During this time Bush has also offered to invite the Democrats to come discuss the standoff over war spending. However the Democrats do not feel there is any use in meetings if no negotiations will be made.

April 9 - Introduction

Hello, my name is Jasmin and the real reason I'm starting this blog is because I am enrolled in a class at the University of California Irvine dealing with blogs and politics in the media. I have never really had a blog before so I really don't know where to begin. I will be blogging daily about interesting political topics within the media so hope you enjoy it!