current event #17

Donald Trump solidifies his lead, but leaves many nervous

   Donald Trump is in his strongest lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. However, nearly two-thirds of American voters say they are concerned or frightened by the prospect of him becoming president. Due to his bluntness in saying to keep immigrants out and to remove all Muslims from entering the United States are one of the main reasons for this. Trump dominates the support of 35 percent of Republicans primary voters, leading his closest competitor Ted Cruz. However, it still not certain if most Republicans would vote for him because a 64 percent of them say it's still too early to be sure. However, there is a slight comparison of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump by 24 percent of voters expressing concern and 40 percent fear about what Mr. Trump would do if elected president, whereas 23 percent said they are concerned and 34 percent scared about the possibility of a Clinton presidency. Overall, the nationwide telephone poll was conducted Dec. 4-8 with 1,053 registered voters, including 431 Republican primary voters and 384 Democratic primary voters.

    This affects me in a way that does in fact get me nervous about what the U.S. citizens would choose to be our leader. In my opinion, Donald Trump would make a horrible one because I think he wouldn't get the job done. Hillary Clinton may express some uneasy opinions to the public but at least she has some good values about what she wants for the country. I read that some people are voting for Trump to just vote because of how "funny" he is and I think that's absurd. Overall, I hope we have a leader who will actually do something to help and support the U.S. 

Thee-Brenan, Megan. "Donald Trump Solidifies His Lead, but Leaves Many Nervous." The New York Times. NYT, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

current event #16

San Bernardino shooters 'supporters' of ISIS, terror group says

    Recently on the news there was a shooting massacre in San Bernardino, California that killed 14 people and injured many more. It was believed to be a man and a woman who were supporters of ISIS. When ISIS heard of this, they didn't know of them but called them "knights" or "soldiers". Authorities searched the married couples home and saw weapons and a makeshift bomb lab which made everyone automatically assume they were terrorists. The couple seemed like very ordinary because the husband, Farook, was very involved in the community. A law enforcement source said that investigators are looking into whether the reason of their massacre was because of a workplace issue on religion. This was a tragic event that sparked all over the United States and how close to home some of the dangerous people who are out there.

     This was absolutely surprising to me because San Bernardino is a very untroubled city because I do in fact have some family who live down there. It's just scary to know that they Farook and Malik lived ordinary lives and something or someone triggered them to act this way and actually attack innocent people. This is a wake up call to everyone in the United States especially since there have been many terrorist attacks lately around the world. I hope those who are deceased, injured, and the families of the victims get justice. 

Karimi, Faith, Jason Hanna, and Yousuf Basil. "San Bernardino Shooters 'supporters' of ISIS, Terror Group Says." CNN. CNN, 5 Dec. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

current event #15

After Paris Attacks, Hillary Clinton Unveils Her Plan to stop ISIS

      The recent terrorist attacks in Paris and other places across Europe and the western hemisphere has brought the attention that this is a huge issue. ISIS, in particular, has been responsible for these attacks it has gotten to the point where the U.S. is going to take action. Hillary Clinton, for example, figured out an idea to defeat the Islamic state and she plans on taking Obama's strategy in Syria and Iraq combined with an effort to the groups internet access, vital supplies, and new fighters. 9/11 and Paris was compared and Hillary says that the United States allies stood by us and now we should stand with Paris. Hillary also lashed out at the Republican presidential candidates because she accused them of "scoring political points" by mocking Democrats, blocking out all refugees, or only allowing Christians. Overall, she says that majority of Muslims aren't terrorists and that our priority should be how to fight the enemy.

       In my opinion, I completely agree with Hillary. As what most people would think, the most human thing to do for Paris is to help them. When the 9/11 attacks happened, many of our allies, including France, helped us. Also, I think we should let refugees in to have them feel safe during these horrible times. Any of the candidates running for president, Republican or Democrat, should feel the need to help other countries especially since many are against ISIS. Hillary is sending a good message to encourage the U.S. to support those who have fallen. 

Bredderman, Will. "After Paris Attacks, Hillary Clinton Unveils Her Plan to Stop ISIS." Observer News. Observer, 19 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

current event #14

Donald Trump: 'Maybe we should boycott Starbucks'

    Donald Trump joins in on the Red Starbucks cup controversy earlier this week. Many Starbucks lovers and Christians are questioning why there wasn't any "Merry Christmas" messages on their annual holiday cups. Trump delivers a message of boycotting Starbucks to bring back the Christmas-themed cups. Starbucks recently said that they did in fact remove "symbols of the season" used in the past such as reindeer and ornaments. Some Christian leaders have long attacked secular businesses for waging a "War on Christmas" and prevented customers and employees from sharing Christmas greetings. Although this may not be a serious topic for Trump to talk about during his time running for president but he does say "I guarantee if I become president, we're going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' at every store."

   I find this kind of amusing how many people are making such a big deal out of this whole holiday cup controversy. I think that Starbucks wasn't trying to offend anyone or anything in any way and just wanted to use simple red cups this holiday season. Donald Trump chimed in on this issue to probably just say something about it. In general, there are many other things to be worried about other than Starbucks cups. 

Schleifer, Theodore. "Donald Trump: 'Maybe We Should Boycott Starbucks'" CNN Politics. CNN, 10 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

current event #13

Donald Trump Takes Shots at Ben Carson after accounts of his youth are questioned

       In the past months of the presidential election, Donald Trump has been hitting Ben Carson with negative things about him. However, it is said in polls that Carson is leading and leaving Trump going down. Carson has some background on a violent childhood and Trump is trying to highlight them if they're true or not. On Friday, Mr. Trump wrote, “With Ben Carson wanting to hit his mother on the head with a hammer, stab a friend and Pyramids built for grain storage — don’t people get it?”. This could either make or break his time in the elections but overall Carson has surpassed Trump in several polls nationally but Trump has increased his criticisms of Carson. This could lead to Trump telling inconsistencies in his stories of his childhood.

     This affects me politically because I think it's immature of Donald Trump to criticize Ben Carson in that way. If what he says about his youth is actually true, then yes it could affect him but it's his past. The past should be left in the past in my opinion and those who are against Carson should focus on what he has to say now in what's going on in the present. Overall, hopefully Trump realizes that his unnecessary actions are uncalled for and unprofessional. 

Haberman, Maggie. "Donald Trump Takes Shots at Ben Carson After Accounts of His Youth Are Questioned." NYTIMES Elections 2016. NYTIMES, 5 Nov. 2015. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.

current event #12

  Clinton 'sees merit' in Obama's decision to send troops to Syria

    As things began to stir in Syria, Obama wants to take action. By this, Hillary Clinton supports Obama to authorize the use of special forces in Syria. she opposes the U.S. getting into a ground war in the Middle East and strongly supports ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and suffering and bring Syria's community together to confront ISIS. It is said that they are deploying 50 Special Operations forces to Syria where it is Kurdish-controlled to help those fighting against ISIS. President Obama expects this to be a huge impact to help support Syria in a way to fight against ISIS. Clinton is taking a part in this because she has been more involved in Syria than Obama has and during her time in secretary of state, she advocated a no-fly zone over the country work for more arm rebels.

    This affects me in a way that the President is doing the right thing by bringing troops to Syria. However, some may disagree but in my opinion it would be nice to give Syria the support that they need. Syria is well driven terrorist country that opposes the U.S. but with what's been happening then I think Obama is making a good decision to do this.


Merica, Dan. "Clinton 'sees Merit' in Obama's Decision to Send Troops to Syria." CNN Politics. CNN, 30 Oct. 2015. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.

current event #11

Santa Clara County: Shigella outbreak victims now up to 110

   Recently a downtown San Jose seafood eatery has affected those who have ate there or those who came in contact with the already infected. This disease is usually transmitted through the unsanitary actions of the workers at the restaurant by not washing their hands. This outbreak reached one of Independence's Mr. Meisner as he is 2 year regular at that restaurant and he was one of the first to file a lawsuit on the owner and restaurant. This infection can be very serious and in rare cases, fatal, and easily transmitted. Overall, it's crazy how this restaurant passed two health inspections yet now it did this to so many people just by being unsanitary.

   This really does scare me because when you walk into your favorite restaurant knowing exactly what you want to eat and later realizing how unsanitary it was handled is very unsettling. This makes me look closer at the places I go to eat now because I would never want this to happen to me. I hope those who were affected do file lawsuits on this restaurant because I definitely would. Overall, this was very scary and hopefully those affected have a fast recovery.

Rodriguez, Joe. "Santa Clara County: Shigella Outbreak Victims Now up to 110." San Jose Mercury News. SJ Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.