Obama agency rules Pepsi's use of aborted fetal cells in soft drinks constitutes 'ordinary business operations'

Pepsi This article's title is a bit misleading. Apparently Pepsi has been supporting the use of aborted fetal cells (the remains such as "human embryonic kidney", stated later in the article) to test the effectiveness of its various synthetic flavoring agents. However, it does not, as the article's title suggests, use the aborted fetal tissue in the final product sold to customers. While the article claims there are other more ethical ways "to evaluate how actual human taste receptors respond to these chemical flavorings" such as using viable, non-human alternatives which they apparently have access to, would this truly be a more ethical alternative? Yes it may be inhumane to use this aborted fetal tissue, but then again it is already going to waste and is not used in the final product (just playing devil's advocate--by no means do I support this), but would using a living being other than a human be anymore ethical, isn't that still cruel? Obviously I'm undecided  Let me know what you think. 

Senate Panel Approves 2 Gun Measures

Two measures that are designed to curb gun violence are heading to the Senate floor for a vote. The first measure would require background checks for private gun sales (passed the committee with no Republicans present to vote). The second measure is a grant program that would help schools improve security over a 10-year period (enjoyed more bipartisan support, however all nays were cast by Republicans). The article continues to discuss past and future legislature proposals that seek to acquire bipartisan support that would satisfy the protection of 2nd Amendment rights and initiate action to curb gun violence. Your take?

Obama Meets With Senate Democrats

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/03/12/obama-meeting-with-senate-democrats-focuses-on-budget-drones-and-immigration/

Today President Obama began his three days of meetings on Capitol Hill to discuss with Senate Democrats different issues at hand. Those issues being, “ongoing budget negotiations, an immigration overhaul and his administration’s unmanned aerial drone program.” The issue mostly at hand today was the ongoing budget negotiations. One thing that President Obama kept pushing at today’s meeting was the ability to work together and come to some sort of agreement with the Republicans. He said it was part of a bigger goal to come to some sort of “grand bargain”. President Obama never actually said what the “grand bargain” was. But I still think it’s nice to know that at least one person is willing to work with the opposing party. However, it doesn’t really mean anything unless the rest of the Democrats and Republicans can set aside their differences for more than five minutes to agree and get something done. President Obama seemed pretty hopeful today.

Colorado Legalizes Same-Sex Civil Unions

In recent weeks we've discussed the importance and controversy over the ongoing dispute about gay marriage in the nation. This week Colorado passed legislation that will legalize same-sex civil unions. The support was mostly Democratic, however the article mentioned that some Republicans also supported the measure. Colorado residents wonder what this law spells out for the future of gay and lesbian couples and what actions will be taken by those avidly opposed to same-sex marriage. Considering the fact that the question of same-sex marriage is being argued all over the United States, do you think that this law will carry any weight to influence the rest of the states, or even the nation as a whole?

Jeb Bush and Immigration

Jeb Bush and Immigration

This article discusses many things that have come up in class, including a possible Jeb Bush presidential run, the Republican party needing to change their attitude to appeal more to immigrants, and the media. I personally can't think of many worse things than another Bush in the White House. Also, I am interested to see if there actually is a realignment of the Republican Party. The immigrant vote and many other minority votes will not go away, so now it's up to the Republican Party to appeal to the new American population.

The New York City soda ban explained

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/11/the-new-york-city-soda-ban-explained/

This article is on a Manhattan judge ruling on Mayor Bloomberg's soda legislation. While this is not the most pressing issue in national politics, I thought it was very relevant to our discussion of the dual court system. This state court issue has received a lot of national attention. I personally think that regulating soda purchases is a little too far. Doesn't the government have bigger fish to fry?

Bipartisan bill would punish gun Trafficking

In this article, it talks about how this bill will ban people buying guns for criminals and will punish them greatly if they do. This I such a great idea it isn't funny. I was thinking about this in class and I was told that this was happening and I couldn't believe it. This article showed me it was real, so it was all good :) What do you guys think about this?

Sorry Nora; it's another gun law post :P

Kerry: U.S. not planning to arm Syrian rebels 'at the moment'

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/05/politics/kerry-interview/index.html?hpt=po_c2

Remember Syria? That Assad guy is still out there. The new Secretary of State John Kerry stated the Aministration's views on Syria. The federal government refuses to give the rebels weapons; it sends boatloads of non-lethal aid instead. Kerry believes that international pressure is mounting on the Assad regime and that more cracks will begin to show themselves.
Kerry also describes himself as"not a yes-man. He says that he is willing to tell the president the truth, a rare trait to find in a person in Washington. I think that Kerry will make a good Secretaries of State. I also applaud the administration's decision to not sell weapons to Syrians; this would probably make the problems much worse

Sequester Could Ultimately Affect Severe-Weather Forecasting

://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/sequester-could-ultimately-affect-severe-weather-forecasting/2013/03/05/b41555ee-850b-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394_story.html

Cost-cutting measures that were part of the recently passed sequester will negatively affect weather forecasting.There will be less weather satellites in the atmosphere, a less effective radio network, and less hours for reconnaissance aircraft that track hurricanes. Inaccurate forecasting can result in a major loss of property and perhaps even the lives of the victims of natural disasters. The Commerce Department is willing to give the NWS some flexibility in managing its budget. Hopefully a compromise is struck, but compromise is a dirty word in today's Washington. I think that the sequester cuts funds from departments that it has no business cutting, like from the NWS, and organization. However, the irony is that the sequester was supposed to drive Congress into action, yet the measure was passed and inaction remains.

Obama's Energy Cabinet Picks

President Obama chose two very important, energy related cabinet members on Monday. Gina McCarthy was chosen to be the head of the EPA and Ernest Moniz was chosen to be the Secretary of the Department of Energy. These two picks send a strong message which Obama delivered during his inaugural address, which is to tackle climate change the energy crisis America faces moving into the future. Personally, I think the energy problem should be dealt with sooner rather than later when it becomes more urgent and threatening to society. A lot of the solutions to this problem will be found through private industry but the government can help regulate and enforce cleaner and more efficient ways of producing and using energy in America.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Dies

Long time political leader of Hugo Chavez passed away this afternoon. Although being praised by many of his constituents, Chavez had a rocky relationship with foreign nations, including the US when he referred to George W. Bush as "the devil" multiple times during a UN speech made several years ago. Chavez' death opens up a possible opportunity for the US to strengthen relations with Venezuela and then possibly Cuba, an ally of Venezuela. It should also be noted that despite having an antagonistic relationship with the US, Venezuela is one of the leading exporters of oil to the US.