TwinkleToes

State of the Union Address by Carl Thomas

2006-02-11T16:17:00.000-05:00

I think the speech was very good, it was short and sweet. Which was very surprising to me, because all of the other speeches he's given have been longer. I liked when he recognized Coretta Scott King and Daniel Shay, it very touching and caring for him to do. I felt that he went on a long time about the War, which is understandable considering we've been fighting it for a while. The one thing I remember most is when he said that America is addicted to oil, which is true because it's the only way we know how, right now, to fuel our cars. I don't really like the fact that he wanted to reauthorize the Patriot Act, because I don't agree with all of what it's trying to do. I thought that what he said about math and science and how we need to be more advanced was ok. I got what he was trying to say, but every country isn't gonna be the same or better than the other at everything. Overall, I think the speech was great, he had some high and low points, which all speeches have, and I think he got his point across.

Gay Marriage Ban in VA

2006-01-29T21:34:00.000-05:00

I think that the whole idea of banning gay marriage is stupid. They should leave them alone because they're living their lives how they want and because they have the freedom to do so. I know that some states already have this law in effect, but I don't think the state of Virginia should follow in their footsteps. Yeah, I know that for those people who are religious say that it's a sin, but so what, the bible also says don't judge people and I think that's exactly what people are doing. I know that America has it's history of being prejudice and racist against groups of people, but why not stop that now? Why don't we just let them live they way they want without the interference of the government. And I'm not saying that the government should be shut completely out citizens lives, but I don't think it's their place to tell people they can't get married because of their definition of marriage. That's what I think and I know it's not gonna happen, but it feels good to say what I think.

The Miner from WV and Abortion

2006-01-19T10:14:00.000-05:00

The Miner from West Virginia has awakened from his coma and most of the doctors think that's it's a miracle. I agree because he was stuck in that mine for much more time and anyone else who has been poisoned by carbon minoxide gas. It's good that he's waking up and responding to his family, I'm glad that his family has hope, because some people wouldn't ( even hough I don't know why not) Anyway, I hope tha he has a good recovery because it would give hope to people who find themselves in similar siuations. I like that out of all the bad, there's something good coming out of this. This just goes to show that something good comes out of bad stiations.

The lawmakers in two states should be ashamed of themselves. They are trying to get abortion banned in their state because they think the judges will favor their side because they're form the same party. I think if this happens politics will become even more cut throat then it already is. It does make some sense, but in other ways in doesn't because who to say they could persuade them to pass the law if their party didn't have the majority. It's stupid, if those laws get passed, it'll just show how manipulative people can be.

Bush on illegal immigration

2005-11-29T10:25:00.000-05:00

I think that it's good that he's addressing the issuse, but I disagree with some of the things that he's doing. I like that fact that he's taking the time to work on securing the border from illegal immigration. I also like that he will return the immigrants to the interior of t he country instead of on the other side of the border. I think that that's good because it'd be pointless to just put them on the other side of the border because they'd just be illegally imported i guess. Putting them in the interior of the country id putting them back to where they belong. I don't like the fact that he's supposedly going to grant some of them citizenship. It's unfair to all of those who want the same and its giving the people the message of it being a good thing. Its not right for people who aren't supposed to be here to be granted citizenship just because he doesn't want to deal with it. It seems to me he's just doing it to please people and to just solve the problem the easy way and not the right way.

U.S. Treatment of Detainees

2005-11-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

The whole process of detaining people, formally charging them, and reviewing their cases is a little confusing. Condoleezza Rice says were abiding by international laws about detainees, but how could that be true when there are people there who haven't heard anything for 3 months about their charges and appealing them. It seems a little shady because the U.S. isn't letting out much info, but I can't really tell because I'm still confused. I know we can detain people if they are suspected of a crime, but is that the only way we can do that? I don't know......
~Felicia

Race for Governor

2005-11-14T14:15:00.000-05:00

"The associated press has declared Tim Kaine the winner of the gubernatorial election of 2005," said NBC 29 News. When I heard that I was so excited because I was hoping that he'd win. I couldn't vote because my b-day was after the elction, but if I could've I would've voted fot Kaine because he's awesome. Not only that, I share some of his views and agree with what he does. I was just very happy that the right man won the race. I don't really have anything else to say, that's just how I feel.

CIA Leak Investigation

2005-10-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

To me this investigation could have and should have been avoided. Everyone could have kept quiet about Mrs. Wilson because its the law. I think the only reason her name was given was because someone wanted to look good because they know her name, which is very stupid if it means jail time. "Scooter" Libby should've just given himself up instead of letting Mrs. Miller sit in jail for almost 3 months. If he didn't do it on purpose, which is highly doubtful, he could've told someone he did accidentally. To lie about even hearing about it is very dumb because you're getting yourself in trouble when someone finds out you lied. And speaking of lying, who lies in court, under oath, knowing the consequences, besides Lil' Kim? "Scooter knew the consequences, he's a smart man, so there's absolutely no reason for him to be in the situation he's in. It could've been avoided all together. And for everyone else who is in this investigation, they need to get the whole thing over with because this shouldn't have happened.

Harriet Miers

2005-10-19T14:59:00.000-04:00

The President seems to have made to wrong decision in nominating Miers as a judge. To me she’s not a good candidate because she has no experience as a judge and it seems like the president picked her to back up his views. I think that he nominated her because he knows that they agree on issues and would make the same decisions on those issues if it ever came to it.
The president called her a pitbull in size 6 shoes which is really wierd. I don't reallt know what that means, but it seems like its a code of theirs or something. You know how people have inside jokes, it may be theirs. If I were on the Senate I'd be apprehensive about choosing her because she's has no open opinion on important issues. It just seems like its a really shady nomineebecause of how long he's known her and her lack of experience.

Sunday's Gubernatorial Debate

2005-10-11T09:35:00.000-04:00

From what I've read in the articles, the debate was very heated. As expected each candidate pointed out each others flaws and were at each others throats about campaign techniques and past actions. Jerry Kilgore, the repulican candidate, was trying to convince voters that if they vote against him, they'll be raising taxes for themselves. Tim Kaine, the democratic candidate, was telling viewers that Kilgore wasn't fit to be governor and that he went against everything that Mark Warner stood for. Both were repeating themselves and dodging answering questions, but over all no new campaign techniques were used and they both stood for what they've been campaining since the beginning of this race. Some newspapers descibed the debate as a NASCAR race because the candidates only got 1 minute or so to answer questions.

Osama And Katrina (article response)

2005-09-14T14:19:00.000-04:00

Basically, Thomas L. Friedman was talking about how the Bush-Cheney Administration did not handle the 9/11 crisis well and that they were in no shape ready to take on what Hurricane Katrina left behind. I didn't know that Bush recieved a mandate to deal with 9/11, and to think that he used it for other purposes that drove into the post 9/11 world is crazy. Because of him we were dealing with things that, in a sense, were "unnecessarily" being dealt with at the time. Our sole focus should have been on the terrorists and Osama, that's what I get from the article from what the author is saying. And now beacause of the carlessness of their Administration taxing its citizen, we're in debt up to our ears, now we can't afford to tax. That, in my opinion, is ridiculous.

Gov't Response to Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-08T10:37:00.000-04:00

“I would never have appointed such a person. I would imagine, I don’t think that anybody would. You would appoint somebody who has experience,” Clinton told CBS.

Pelosi: Not one, but two disasters:
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada pressed for a broad investigation that would explore questions such as “How much time did the president spend dealing with this emerging crisis while he was on vacation?”

My Opinion:
I think that everyone needs to stop pointing the finger at people to blame. It's not the most important issue right now, the issue is helping those in need of relief. It's so stupid that poeple could get so sidetracked with blaming people instead of focusing on the reason why they started to do that in the first place, bringing relief to the citzens affected by the hurricane. Yeah the government took a long time to get to these people, but they're there now and they're doing what they can.

Gas Prices Webquest

2005-09-06T10:33:00.000-04:00

Gas Prices Webquest
Names: Felicia J and Sarah L
Mr. Daly
9/6/05

1. Research the impact of Hurricane Katrina on gasoline prices. Why did it cause an increase in gas prices? What are some problems that this increase may cause? What are some things that are being done to control costs?

….Hurricane Katrina forced many refinerires to close along the Gulf Coast, where 40% of t he nation’s capacity is located. You can only get so much gas and the demand is so high that you pay so much and its one of the biggest problems people face. Citizens are also fighting over the limited supply of gasoline. Some things that are being to to control costs are thatgas stations are closing down to avoid the demand.

2. Research current gasoline prices across the country. Write a summary on why some states or areas have higher gasoline prices than others. Think about the area's location and population, does that affect their gasoline prices? Include current prices in your explanation.

….Some states in the west have lower gas prices because their sources have not been effected by Katrina. For example in California the lowest prices are around $2.25 and in New York the lowest prices are around $2.59. In Louisiana the prices range from $2.43 to $3.19. The location of the area does affect the gas prices because the travel paths of the rigs from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast as seen through the data those are the most changed, in terms of prices.

3. Describe the changes in gasoline prices in the last fifty years.

….Between 1950 and 1975 the gas prices have graduallly gone down from $1.91 to $1.80. A sudden chang in 1980 caused the prices to raise dramatically to $2.59. In 1985 the prices graduaaly went down again from $1.90 until 2001 where it jumped to $1.66 from $1.28. Since 2001 with the war in Iraq it has grown again. Today, since the hurricane the prices have raise to almost $4.00 in some places.

4. Compare gas prices around the world. Do certain regions have lower prices than others? Which countries have the highest prices and which have the lowest? How does the current prices in the United States compare to the rest of the world?

……The lowest price for gas is in Venezuela and its $0.12 in U.S. dollars and the highest is in Amsterdam and that price is $6.49, also is U.S. dollars. Regions that have the lowest prices don’t the demand for gas because of the non-use of vehicles. The regions with the highest prices have higher populatiobs which cause for high demand because of car use.

5. Write down or copy/paste the URL of the websites you take information from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to to prove your point. Keep a list of the websites you visited to hand in.

......All on your blogspot

Reading from last night (My Private Idaho)

2005-08-30T12:51:00.000-04:00

The comment that I remember most is, "Shouldn't the president worry more about body armor than body fat?" I agree with this comment because I think as President of the U.S. and especially at a time like this, more impoprtant things should be on your mind. Yeah health and body image is important (to some), but he should have the most important thing on his mind, his job!!! Instead of vacations and exercise on the brain, the war and the troops should be on the brain. I could say a lot more, but I may offend others so I'll cut it short.

Thanks for reading. Support the Troops!!! :)

SiReNs ArE hOt!!!!!

2005-08-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah we are, you should join!!!

China agrees to smoking curbs

2005-08-29T14:40:00.000-04:00

Just a current event that I found interesting. Enjoy!! :)

Fast food clusters near schools!!

2005-08-26T17:36:00.000-04:00

To begin responding to this article, I was thinkg that, of course, fast food restaurants target teens in middle and high schools. I think that it does play a part in the nation's obesity ratings or statistics, but mainly it's YOUR fault. You can choose what to and what not to eat and because we choose to eat fast food, the companies cluster near our schools. They know that we'll stop in after school or during lunch(if we have that privledge) , and they're smart to think that and put thier restaurants where they please because (in my opinion) teens will always eat fast food, that's what they do!