Opportunities for Underprivileged to go to College

Amazing news for kids who'll enter college starting 2014. When repaying student loans, students only have to pay 10% of their income per month. And after 20 years, if they paid 10% of their income every month toward the loan, then the remaining debt is dropped. This is great for families who can't afford to send their kids to college, because now more kids will be able to pay it off themselves. So even if parents don't have a job, their kids can have a future.

Westboro Baptist Church Gets Money from Father of Dead Soldier

I'm going to keep this short because the Westboro Baptist Church(WBC) enrages me, and I don't want to get too worked up.
The WBC can be seen picketing soldier's funerals, holding signs that say things such as "God Hates Fags", "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", and things of that nature.

Among the teachings of the church, which was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps, is the belief that God is punishing the United States for "the sin of homosexuality" through events such as soldiers' deaths.

I personally cannot comprehend how that thought enters one's mind in the first place.
In a particular case, the WBC was picketing outside of the funeral Matthew Snyder. Snyder's father sued the organization.

Snyder's family sued the church and went to trial in 2007 alleging privacy invasion, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

This was combated by the church. They said their rights to free speech were being violated. At first the courts sided on Snyder's side, but a year later they've sided with the WBC. I would be able to accept charges being dropped, but the courts decided to make Snyder pay.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ordered that Snyder pay more than $16,000 in costs requested by Westboro for copies of motions, briefs and appendices, according to court documents.

I am extremely upset by this. People are standing outside of a funeral with signs acknowledging that the deceased deserved to die. And now the family is paying the group of people.
I can honestly say that some of the things this country does makes me want to pick up and leave. The injustices often infuriate me.

The Reign of AT&T Could Be Over

Since it's release, AT&T has been the only cell phone service that works with the Apple Iphone. Recently, however, there' buzz that Iphones will become compatible with Verizon as well as AT&T. This is most likely just the jumping off point for the Iphone to eventually become compatible with multiple carriers. This would be great for Apple, and their stock would probably go up. I'm all for any break-up of a monopoly. So I'd say this is beneficial in the long run.

How to Outsmart O'Reilly

This is one of my favorite videos on the internet. You've got comedian Steven Colbert being interview by Bill O'Reilly. Bill O'Reilly is a conservative, and Colbert is liberal, but on his show and in the interview he plays a character that is a highly conservative republican. Steven doesn't even attack or mock O'Reilly, but rather effortlessly makes him look so ignorant. It is so clear here that Colbert is mocking O'Reilly, and O'Reilly just does not pick up on it. Colbert says "I want to bring your message of love and peace, which I understand that is your message, I want to bring the message of love and peace to a younger audience, people in their sixties, people in their fifties, people who don't watch your show." O'Reilly responds with "People in their fifties and sixties, too young for 'the Factor' are watching your show..." .And it seems that everyone gets it but O'Reilly, as you can hear people on the set laughing.



Now in this second video, you have John Stewart doing a straight interview with O'Reilly. He's giving very intelligent answers, and O'Reilly even says in response to one of his answers, "woah, that's way over my head!". Now, by giving legitimate analysis, he is able to have more of a conversation, but also it seems that he is more vulnerable to ad hominem attacks. This second video is less entertaining, but still very interesting.

What I gathered from watching these two videos and comparing them, is that if you want to make someone whom you know is stupid look stupid, then all you have to do is sit back and let them talk.

Using Marijuana Legally Can Still Cost You Your Job

Joseph Casias is a resident of Michigan, where marijuana is legal. He developed cancer of the nasal cavity and began using medical marijuana as a pain reliever. He was an employee at Wal-Mart, but when he was drug tested and he didn't pass, he was fired.

"I was angry they did this to me because I always tried my best," said Casias, who was employed at Wal-Mart for five years. He earned an Associate of the Year award in 2008. "I want my job back. I thought I was part of the Wal-Mart family."

Joseph also says that he had never come to work high. I understand why this would be the case if marijuana was illegal, but it isn't. To me this is equivalent to firing someone over 21 who drinks on the weekends. They never show up to work drunk, and it doesn't impair their performance, so what is the problem?

I believe that Wal-Mart has questionable morals in the first place, but this is something that should be changed. Now is not an appropriate time to be firing people. Being fired for using marijuana is also going to hinder their ability to get another job if they have to say why they were fired from their last one.

Part of Michigan's law, passed in 2008, does address employers, saying a patient carrying a medical marijuana card cannot be "denied any right or privilege" by a "business or occupational or professional licensing board."

It clearly states that it is not legitimate to fire someone for legally using marijuana. I believe that Wal-Mart should either give Joseph his job back, or be sued, end of story.

Recalls can Destroy Businesses

"Peanut Corporation of America, the company at the crux of the nationwide salmonella panic, filed for liquidation bankruptcy in February 2009, just a month after it first announced a recall of peanut butter products processed in its Blakely, Ga., plant. ...The salmonella outbreak sickened more than 700 people in 46 states and led to nine deaths."

It's things like this that make me scared to eat any processed food. Clearly there is a direct correlation between the outbreak and the company going bankrupt. With the number of outbreaks and recalls that happens, it seems that companies simply aren't cautious enough about the ingredients they use and the conditions in which they make their food. Not only was the outbreak responsible for nine deaths and many more sicknesses, but anyone who was employed at this corporation was out of work. That number is most likely in upwards of hundreds of people.

So, among a climate of people just getting back up on their feet, many more are put out of work. What's more, the plants closing affect local economies. It will be extremely difficult for people to get jobs in the town they live in because so many others are trying as well. In extreme cases, the crime rate in towns go up, and as a result, value of homes go down, and the cycle continues. But corporations are never held liable for the fates of the people that lose their jobs because of their irresponsibility. Corporations have nearly no liability, but they most definitely should.
Corporations need to be more responsible, because there is more at risk than the product they make being absent from store shelves.

Biden's Big Mouth is at it Again

Oh Biden, you're always saying inappropriate things. In general, this isn't so bad. But he is the vice president. It simply gives the right wing more fuel, more things to call the Obama administration out on. But you always need someone to spice things up, right?