The Future of NASA

With the Shuttle program set to come to an end and the national debt mounting  there are many question about the future of NASA. President Obama has proposed a plan that in a sense would delay the space program while the country tackles more pressing issues and then when the time is right we would begin space exploration again. President Obama’s plan would scrap the Constellation program that was set to takeover after the space shuttle retires and has U.S astronauts catching a ride to the ISS on Russian spacecrafts. While many people believe many jobs will be lost across the country with the elimination of the Constellation program the President has assured the county that certain aspects of his plan will counter those affects.. Under Obama’s plan an American manned flight would not take off for almost ten years and when it does it would be headed to the ultimate frontier; the moon then on to Mars, rather than the International Space Station.  President Obama’s plan has been controversial and criticized by space exploration heavyweights, such as Neil Armstrong, but I believe it is the right plan for our country and so does the second-man to walk on the moon, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, who backed the President’s plac. It is better to cut NASA funding rather than funding for unemployment benefits, social security and the likes. While I believe during good economic times we should pay attention to exploring space and making new discoveries I feel like those programs should be the first the be cut when our country is in a pinch because they are not vital to the health of our nation.

A Sad Day for Poland

I’m sure by now you have all heard about the plane crash that took the life of the Polish President and first lady as well as 95 other passengers. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the country of Poland and to the families of all the passengers who were on that flight.

Healthcare! Healthcare! Healthcare!

Paper for making copies of the healthcare bill: a lot, Enacting the healthcare bill: a lot more, Making History: Great, Making Sure Every American Gets the Healthcare They Need: Priceless

Ahhhhhh Finally! Healthcare reform has passed, well for the most part. Press secretary Robert Gibbs at the briefing today told reporters that the Senate would take-up House-passed healthcare fixes “at some point this week,” he went on to say, “ look healthcare’s going to become law tomorrow. I can’t speak to all of the amendments or all of the shenanigans that will be tried on Capitol Hill over the course of the next many days. But we’re confident this process is coming to an end.”  While there are still many details to be worked out today should be a day for all Americans, minus Capitol hill Republicans, to celebrate. As a whole healthcare reform is as good as passed and this country can move forward on the path to making certain every U.S citizen has access to affordable health insurance. Some say we still have a long road ahead of us, but that road is merely a small fork off of the main street that is healthcare reform. Our journey along this main road has come to an end after a long and arduous trek that  began nearly a year ago. This is a great victory for the American people as well as capitol hill Democrats and the President. President Obama finally accomplished his mission to bring desperately needed reform to the healthcare system after first announcing his intentions almost three years ago in Iowa City, where he is rumored to be returning this Thursday. The President’s approval rating should begin to rise and if everything with healthcare stays on track Democratic incumbents should be more successful at retaining their seats in the upcoming mid-term elections. Despite claims from Republicans I believe that most Americans wanted healthcare reform to become a reality and there are many people who desperately needed it to become a reality, and now it has. It is truly a great and historic day for our country!

Lily’s First Political Action Experience

Politics is definitely where I am supposed to be! Last night I spoke at the Des Moines School Board meeting in support of band and music education. They are thinking of cutting band from elementary schools and limiting art and music education k-12. While this is a very troubling issue I hate to say it, but I had so much fun speaking! Many people have commended me for speaking up at the meeting and I feel I will soon become addicted to political activism. The feeling that you have said what the whole community is thinking and have represented hundreds of people is the best feeling in the world! . I just wanted to share with all of you my first real political experience because I feel it is very exciting. I am now one baby step closer to the White House! If you too want to stand up for music education and are in the Des Moines area please stop by the capital tomorrow between 8:45 and 11:45  A.M we need all the support we can get, thank you!

Final Call for Healthcare Reform

President Obama has once again put out a call for Congress to schedule a final vote on healthcare reform. While passing healthcare reform would provide excellent political capital for President Obama and the Democrats it would also be excellent for the American people. The cost of health insurance is sky-rocketing at an alarming rate.Nearly everyone has seen their premiums increase and neither the American people nor the President have been able to get a straight answer from the insurance companies as to why they are massively raising premiums-by as much as 60% percent in states like Illionois. It seems as the cost of insurance raises the amount of coverage that they provide moves in the opposite direction. Preventive care is often not covered by insurance, the cost of preventive procedures is miniscule compared to the cost, both literally and metaphorically of the operations and procedure that result from preventive action not being taken.Preventive measures not being covered by insurance companies results in people skipping regular screenings and exams only to find themselves falling seriously ill to disease and conditions that could easily of been preventive or spotted and treated before they become severe. The high-cost of medical care paired with the low coverage of insurance leaves millions of Americans vulnerable every year. The other problem in the health insurance industry lies with the lack of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Those who have a history of medical problems or are more likely to fall ill, the people who need insurance the most,  find themselves exposed without insurance or paying astronomically high prices for insurance, while those who are healthy and require little medical assistance are insured. This is a backwards system that takes advantage of this sick and a system like this should not exist in a country like the United States. If we do not pass healthcare and allow those with pre-existing conditions to gain access to insurance we would be abandoning our sick and disabled, something I believe no politician would promote, but by voting against healthcare they would actively be doing . Republicans have said that the Democrats are trying to push something down the throats of Americans that they do not want, the Republicans are clearly mistaken. The American people have seen the problems in our healthcare system and fall victim to greedy insurance companies every day. The mother who can’t afford glasses for her child and watches him and his grades in school suffer everyday, the children who watch their parents grow sick but refuse costly care so their kids can attend college, the husband who watches his ailing wife die because they couldn’t afford a life saving procedure, these Americans are demanding health care reform and so is nearly every other person in the country. People have always said that those in Washington D.C are out of touch with voters and this has never been so true  of any politician than those who vote against reforming our healthcare system.

The whole health insurance system is broken and requires serious fixing. If all members of congress cannot come together and pass reform they are letting their constituents down. By letting healthcare reform die and by letting insurance companies continue to take advantage of hard-working Americans legislatures would be failing those who trusted in them and elected them into office. President Obama has called for a final vote and the American people have called for reform, the only question left is whether our congressmen and women will listen and answer that call.

The Fight for Democracy

I have always opposed the war effort in Iraq and have been skeptical of our reasoning for being there, but that aside I want to congratulate the Iraqi people on today’s step towards growing and continuing their democracy. I believe we, the American people, need to look to them for inspiration. Millions of people risked their lives just to cast a vote today. The people of Iraq know what it is like to suffer without democracy and value the protection and promise that  democracy brings. We here in America have for all too long taken this promise for granted. The gridlock and partisanship are endangering the quality of our democracy. We need to set our opinions and grudges aside and work on keeping our country functioning to the best of her abilities. We need to start allowing our system of government to beginning working for us instead of against us. Because right now the petty bickering on Capital Hill is allowing our long and great system to defeat us, but if we start to compromise and  begin to pass real laws and reform our system can once again proudly be called the greatest in the world.

Even though I am too young to cast a ballot I want to address those of you who aren’t. Value your vote, be proud of it and don’t ever take in for granted. The voters in Iraq risked life and limb to have their voices heard, is it really so hard for you to give up some of your lunch break? Don’t ever skip voting out of laziness or indifference you have the right to have your voice heard, that right is your most important so use it. People across the world and throughout history have fought and died for the right to have their voices heard by their governments all you have to do is vote.

I know that the mid-term elections are still months out, but you need to be thinking about them now. When you are in that voting booth,and this applies to any election, only recall the facts. Think about the policy decisions and the opinions of those whose names are printed on your ballot, think about the actions they have taken and the words that they have spoke, try to forget the mud-slinging and name calling and meaningless propoganda because unbiased facts are solely on what you should base your consequential decision. And in the mid-term elections I’m begging with you not to just take your troubles out on those who are in office. While most Americans want to blame their problems on the Democrats because they are in power, the Republicans are just as much to blame. The Republicans have stopped or delayed most of the bills Democrats have tried to get through Congress that would deliver much needed help to the American people. The Republicans have stopped these bills from becoming law out of spite and petty anger rather than reason. The Republicans seem to have quickly forgotten which party got the country into the mess it is in. Also, if we replace Democrats with Republicans the traffic jam of politics will only get worse and that would surely have devastating effects that would echo from coast to coast.

To sum this all up, be proud and grateful of our democracy and do everything in your power to keep it healthy and working smoothly so that everyone feels its extensive and resounding effects.

Awwwwww SNAP!

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides millions of American families with what we call food stamps. With the economy in the state that it is in, the number of families that would be eligible for food stamp assistance is increasing at an alarming rate. With this number rising it is time we take a harder look at SNAP and make sure all Americans that need help are getting it. An increase in funding for SNAP is not the answer. Instead what we need to do is reform our system so that it works more efficiently. The problems I am aiming to solve are the poor nutrition of food stamp recipients and the low number of food stamp eligible families that are actually receiving assistance. Food stamp recipients are forced to live on three dollars a day, that is a dollar a meal. Clearly, these people cannot afford to buy healthy food. Instead, they survive on boxed processed food that is generally unhealthy. This unhealthy diet leads to health problems latter on and because food stamp recipients generally live in poverty and are eligible for government assistance tax payers are paying for not only the unhealthy diet that leads to these people’s preventable health problems they are also paying for their health care. At first glance one would think the solution to this problem is to increase SNAP funding but what many U.S taxpayers don’t know is that the money needed to solve this problem is already in the system.
The money is there for 100% of eligible citizens to receive food stamp assistance, but nationally only 65% of eligible people receive food stamps. Food stamp distribution is not the responsibility of the Federal Government. The states get the funding for their SNAP programs from the Federal Government and it is then up to the state to distribute it. In some states as low as 48% of eligible citizens receive food stamps. Because the funding is there for 100% of eligible Americans to receive assistance the low participation rate leads to over 3 billion dollars left in the SNAP program at the end of the year.
The solution that I propose is a law that reforms SNAP. This law would require states to spend 90% of their SNAP funding each year. While some might say that this is impossible or that the Federal government is overstepping their boundaries I believe those few will be spread far and wide. States could increase the amount of money that they spend in one of two ways. The first way would be to increase the number of people that are eligible for food stamps that actually receive them. This would force states to increase their food stamp participation rate and more people would be receiving much needed assistance. The second way that states could spend their money would be to adjust the amount of assistance that each food stamp recipient receives. With a minimum of three dollars a day states would be free to raise the amount of money each participant gets. This would allow people to buy healthier foods and in turn be healthier people. The third and final provision in this law would prevent states form sending government jobs overseas. The state of Florida paid JP Morgan 50 million dollars to administer food stamps distribution and customer service jobs were outsourced to India. These jobs could have been held by food stamps recipients and allowed them to get off of government aid. This law is the best option to fix our broken food stamp program because it does not increase government spending, but instead uses funding that is already there to make our system work more efficiently and reach more people. With healthcare and the economy on the forefront of the American mind it might be challenging to make people see that our food stamp system needs fixing, but I believe if the American people are presented with the facts they will see that we cannot solve for the economy or healthcare until we fix our food stamp program.

If you want to help with the food stamp reform effort or have any comments or questions please contact me at: snap.reform@gmail.com

We will be organizing a letter writing campaign and petition in order to inform our congressmen of this huge and pressing problem and would truly value your participation.

The Legislative Playground

I often read a variety of stories to get ideas for my blog. Today while doing this I notice that there weren’t many stories containing a whole lot of substance ,in essence the stories were just a lot of back and forth bickering between politicians and their parties. I believe the egregious partisanship that is taking part at capitol hill and across the nation is one of the largest threats facing the health of our great country.

I am currently taking a basic government class and have studied in-depth the roots of our nation and the principles that it was built on. The United States Government was and will hopefully continue to be a work of art. The ideas and beliefs that shaped our country should still be what our government is based on, but sadly I feel they are not. Politicians nowadays spend more time and money trying to figure out how to better themselves then how to better the country that they serve. If you listen to an interview with almost any politician, regardless of their party, you will hear them talk about why the opposing party is always wrong, why their party is always right, and why they themselves are at no fault for any problems our nation is facing. Almost never do you hear them really give concrete evidence as to why they are right and they seem to never really get to the meat of an issue. I myself want to be a politician and respect everyone who considers themselves to be one, so I am not going to refer to any of the awful stereotypes about those in the business of politics, but the mean and petty manner in which a majority of politicians behave themselves today is sickening and makes one recall recess in elementary school.

The state of our national legislature is deeply troubling if the founding fathers knew how it was operating today I would be horribly ashamed and embarrassed. True the legislative process is a long and complicated one, but it doesn’t have to be as harrowing as we make it. The  legislature that the founding fathers envisioned was a strong, powerful, and efficient one whose goal was to produce high-caliber bills that bettered America and her citizens, todays legislature  is a mangled and  barely recognizable version of the one the founding fathers sought. The reason that the legislative process is complicated is so that only extremely high quality bills that would greatly benefit the American people and bring about real change would become laws. Instead, we get watered down bills that are weak and  in the end don’t change anything. Because of this we will never be able to effectively solve our nation’s problems or move our country forward.Because so few are willing to compromise when it comes to making laws we get a devastating gridlock and very few effective ,high quality bills ever get passed. Without an end to the partisanship plaguing our capital problems such as, terrorism, healthcare and the economy are never going to get fixed. Those in the political arena need to start getting along and start acting more like adults operating our government rather than third-graders in the school yard. Along with making a giant leap towards bipartisanship I think it is time we take a step backwards, or forwards depending on how you want to view it, towards the government that our founding fathers envisioned because that government was nothing short of genius.

Quote of the Day

During a town-hall meeting at an all-women’s college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Secretary of State, Hillary  Rodham Clinton, was asked whether she would consider moving to Canada or Russia if Sarah Palin is elected President.. Amused, Clinton replied “Well, the short answer is no. I will not be emigrating, I will be visiting as often as I can.”

This is Great! If you’ve been following my blog you now I nurse somewhat of a grudge against former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin because of this I find Clinton’s response nothing short of genius. Some say that Palin has a good chance of winning the GOP Presidential nomination and then the presidency, if this unfortunate prediction comes true Secretary of State Clinton I will see you in Canada!

Get Better President Clinton!

Earlier today former President Bill Clinton was admitted to the hospital with chest pain and  he is undergoing surgery to have two stints put in place. I wanted to let him know that we are all behind him and wish him well. Get well soon President Clinton!!!