SERVICE POST #3

Election Day! How exciting was that! Oh wait it was not because it was raining and miserable outside. So my friend Aaron and I slowly became wet as we stood outside the high school handing out Democratic sample ballots. Since we were there in the later afternoon, I thought that we would catch all of the people coming home from work. However, and this was very interesting to me that most of the people that came to vote between the times of 4 to 7 were housewives whose kids stayed outside running outside the high school. So for the most part it was boring but at least I got to experience it with a friend.
You could totally tell who the Republicans and Democrats were, especially with the clothes and such. And it was cool to see voters in action, the undecided the overly confident, it was awesome. By the end of the day, my feet were freezing and my clothes were wet and it was time to go home. But at the same time I was wanting to go home I felt as if I was a part of history, especially with Obama winning!

SERVICE POST #2

The next time I volunteered I was not in the hot sun or the luxury of getting doors slammed in my face. Oh no, this time I was lucky to get angry people yell at me on the phone. However, it was much more enjoyable than canvassing. It was a weird room and we all got our own phones and our own seats to make everyone of our calls. I decided to park on the random couch in the room, more privacy and in an isolated corner. At first my calls contained of people who had already been called and were mad at me! At me of all people! But as time went on, I began to talk to some interesting people. One woman I talked to said that she would have never imagined voting for a black president. She talked about her family and how when she was growing up, her family looked down on other races and now she felt “awesome” by defying her family and voting for a black man aka Obama. What was funny was that she was 65 years old and the thought of defying her parents was still a thrill! I also got to sound like a robot when I left the standard prompt messages…which I guess is always great…

Wait till you hear about election day…

SERVICE #1

The day was November 1st when I started my serivice hours and I was actually glad that I waited until the last minute because that was when the election was the worst and people were determining their decisions. I had yet to know what I was in for and I knew that what ever I was going to do, I was going to hate it regardless. Not that I have a problem with volunteering, but it was the day after Halloween and I was tired from a night of fun. Anyway, I showed up at 10 AM like I agreed to and instantly knew I was not making any calls or licking any envelopes. It was hot and sticky outside, surprising for Noevermber 1st. So anyway I ended up canvassing and getting doors slammed in my face. Some did not speak english, some looked at me with a blank stare and others were just mean. I was so glad when my four hours were up because I was about to legit quit and not do the project!

Oh and I dropped flyers in front of someone's house...

ELECTION POST #6

PREDICTIONS YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay okay. so it has been an intense election but in the end there can only be one winner...and in this case its going to be...BARRACK OBAMA! Hands down. Let's be honest have you seen the polls lately? Also some recent news has just released that the states are changing in his favor. 

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/calculator/

Look at this it is my favorite and you can totally put your predictions and see that Obama is in the lead. CNN also offers other features that help you determine your predictions. 

As in terms of swing states, I think Virginia will go Blue because Obama has been ahead in the polls in Virginia and in my recent service hours most people I have contacted have been fans of Obama and have strong feelings against McCain and Palin. 

Another state that is currently undecided is Florida and I believe that it might go McCain because of the population of senior citizens and they are the largest and most conservative of the age groups and they also vote the most. 

Well I guess we will see tomorrow ...even though we already know the answer. 

CE #6

Sarah Palin is once again burned...literally. This week in Battle, England on their annual burning of a famous politician, Palin was the lucky candidate this year. A caricature like sculpture of her holding a machine gun, examplifying her hunting skills as well as her feminimity with bright red lipstick emphasizing her huge lips. In the past they have done politicians such as Tony Blair and this year even included our next president Barrack Obama. Honestly, I think its funny but to others this seemed as an act of immaturity and hate, because these people are not even American. Some of the townspeople in Battle said "it is not that we hate her, she is just a very interesting person in this election." This makes Palin stand out to an even more extent now that the elections are tomorrow! So if you can vote, go vote :D! 

CE #5

Well, everyone's favorite topic in this year's election has had to be Sarah Palin! Good news, even advocates for McCain find her to be an idiot. In a recent CNN news story, a McCain aide said that Palin is "a diva" and that she is "playing for her own future." This was a response to recent incidents where she answered questions that opposed the McCain campaign. Some tried to defend her by saying she is "not good with processed questions," which is secretly code for she does not know how to answer anything at all. Okay now I am not one to criticize obnoxiously, but really? If you can't answer questions on the spot, how are you going to lead a country? How can you live? Oh I am sorry, I can't ask those questions because they are too processed for you.

All I am saying is that people should really evaluate who they are voting for...

WEEK #5 ELECTION POST

Now that it is closer to Election Day (one week and two days to be exact) everyone bites their nails in anticipation for who is going to win those swing states.
The swing states include:
West Virginia
Virginia
Ohio
North Dakota
North Carolina
Nevada
Montana
Missouri
Indiana
Florida
Colorado

HOW INTENSE IS THAT! Both candidates depend on these states to have their back because these states basically determine the winner. These states are considered "swing states," meaning they can lean either Democrat or Republican, because their traditions of voting with a certain party have dewindled. For example, West Virginia was a Democratic state until the election of 2000 when they flipped and voted Republican. The question is, will they go back to tradition or will they continue their current status? Which is the question in most of these swing states.

Two states that I think already have their answers to the question are Virginia and West Virginia. I feel that Virginia will vote for Obama. Recently in the polls Obama has had a lead here in VA and the upcoming metropolitin of Northern Virginia has a great deal of impact in the state versus southern Virginia which does not have much of an influence. Also, Palin has called NOVA "fake America" which let's be honest, will not go well with the voters that reside in NOVA. Is it not true that if it is US territory it is considered "real America." Hey Sarah Palin Alaska was not even a state until 1959! So I am as, if not more American than you are...Anyway...

West Virginia I have to admit is going to go for McCain. Let's be honest they have voted republican in the last two elections and I think that is just going to carry on in this election. However, the polls in that state have made the distance between Obama and McCain smaller, so you never really know what could happen. I guess that is why it is a swing state, you can never really predict the outcome.

Hopefully all of the swing states will have Obama's back...but we all know that probably won't happen. Well until next time...

Chanel

P.S. VOTE ON MY POLL. ALSO IF OLD ENOUGH VOTE NOV. 4TH...FOR OBAMA OFCOURSE :D

WEEK #4 ELECTION POST

Polling! One of the most important ways to see what America is thinking in terms of Election '08. Recently in the Presidential Election, it is evident that Obama is in the lead that has reached double digits, giving hope to Obama supporters everywhere. However there is a lapse in data considering there are different polls. In this post, I will analyze current polls and their impact on the election.

Gallup Poll

Registered Voters:
Obama: 52%
McCain: 42%

Likely Voters (Expanded):
Obama: 51%
McCain: 44%

Likely Voters (Traditional):
Obama: 49%
McCain: 46%

The most intreresting thing about this specific poll is that they break the voters into categories. The registered voters poll is more legit than the other ones because these are people who are going to most likely vote and have prospects for voting, while the other two are based on how things have changed or how they are traditionally based with their party. I like how they classified the votes because it gives a broad exploration of what the country thinks and also gives more legitimacy to who is in the lead and who is not.

For More Information: http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx

CNN Poll

Obama: 49%
McCain: 43%
Unsure: 8%

With the CNN poll, they are full flegged with pie charts and a map of the country that is cohesive with current state results. For example they have Virginia as blue because Obama is now in the lead in Virginia. What is interesting about the CNN Poll is that they do not classify their voters which could lead to more of an error because we don't know who votes and there could be voters in this poll who are not even registered or allowed to vote. I do however like the visual aspects of their website because it is easier to understand and follow.

For More Information: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/polling/

Senate Races:

VoteFromAbroad.org Poll

Virginia:
Mark Warner: 58%
Jim Gilmore: 29%

This site was similar to the CNN poll in which they have visual representaions of the results of recent polls. The weird aspect about the Senate race is that not every state has one, so it seems that it is not as an important election as it should be. I'm not surprised at these results because Warner has proabably had more experience than Gilmore and now that Obama has the lead in Virginia Polls it is not surprising that the Democratic nominee of Virginia, Warner, is in the lead as well.

For More Information: http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Senate/Maps/Oct20-s.html

SurveyUSA Poll

Norm Coleman: 41%
Al Fraken: 39%
Dean Barkley: 18%
Undecided: 2%

I like SurveyUSA because they focus on individual areas. For example this poll was taken in Minnesota. I also like how they break down different groups and their results. For example they separated by gender and 42% of females voted for Fraken while 36% of males voted for him as well. I think this method of polling really highlights voting based on certain categories such as gender and age, which could also help the validity of statistics now and in the future. This poll gives the knowledge of why and how people vote instead of just a simple "vote for your candidate" poll.

For More Information: http://www.surveyusa.com/

In all, the polls have margin error in common because we never know who votes in these polls and from now until Election Day, people's opinions could take a complete 180 or people might get to the polls and be unsure about who they were going to vote for. However, polling is still a great way to see the nation's viewpoint and can alter the way that people vote. This election shall be interesting...

Until next post...

Chanel

P.S. Vote on my poll on the right side of my page!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CE #3

The No Child Left Behind act has made its impact through Bush's administration and probably will have an influence in the next administration. This week in Sacremento an elementary school which usually meets requirements under the "No Child" act failed to raise their test scores. The reason for their failure was that the act increased the difficulty of meeting the test scores by 11%. The problem with this recent drop in "passing schools" is that they will have a harder time in achieving excellence in the future. This will prevent them from aquiring funds and also will kill their attendence rate.

WEEK #3 ELECTION POST

Hello all, today I will be posting about the local elections that are also important along with the Presidential Elections. The local election that I decided to zoom in on is the one for US House of Representatives in the 10th District. Like the Presidential election there are candidates of each party:

Judy Feder (Democrat): She has lived in Virginia for over 30 years and served as the Dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute from 1999-2007 and was also a professor there. Her main focus is that of health care. Feder believes in making health care affordable and also to extend the choice and coverage for health care to all Americans, even without a job. She is again running against Frank Wolf.

Frank Wolf (Republican): Wolf has been the representative of the 10th District since 1981, so he is a veteran when it comes to representing Virginia. He is a well known delegate and is the co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. His priority which he says is "always the priority" is the transportation issues in Northern Virginia. He wants to cut down on gridlock as well as teaming up with organizations such as MADD to prevent drunk driving.

Neeraj Nigam (Independent): Nigam only arrived to the US in 1989, but is determined to change the face of government. He became a citizen in 1995 and is now a Senior Systems Analyst and Manager for a Crystal City project. His goal is to reform what the government is all about because he feels that the governemnt is becoming Socialist which he thinks will fail.

I failed to find any recent polling data on how every one is measuring up in the race, but Feder is obviously the "underdog" especially running after her loss in 2005. However I feel that Feder is the best candidate. She focuses on local issues while also talking about national issues and what is important. Wolf's priorities seem off to me because I feel like most people at this point in the economy and health care, care about traffic patterns as much. Maybe its because I don't drive...

Well until next time...

Chanel

Want to learn more about these candidates?

Judy Feder: http://judyfeder.com/

Frank Wolf: http://wolfforcongress.com/

Neeraj Nigam: http://www.nigamforcongress.org/

CE #2

My current event involved the circumstances in which would follow a failed bill. My main concern was what would happen to the future of students applying to college. Like I said in my last post, I was mostly concered with this because I need money for college and if all of these companies fail, than I possibly could not go to college.

Another reason I am worried is because what is the economy going to be like when my genereation goes out into the work force. This is why I think the bill is so crucial and such a big deal because either way we don't know what could happen because both sides of the bill have consequences.

ELECTION POST #2

The countdown is continuing as the Presidential election is merely 35 days away. Now should be the time that voters get their priorities in order, as in registering, understanding their views and understanding the candidates opinions. While watching the debate that took place this past Friday I found that the most important issue to me was not gay marriage, not the environment, but the one I least expected, the economy.

Applying to college is just one of the many stressors that have entered my life. While investigating colleges and such I have come to pay much more attention to the cost and how I would obtain the money for my college education. This is what made me start to think of the economy which is falling into a state of depression. I realized that without a stable economy and with the recent failure of major banks and companies, it might be even more difficult to get loans and grants for college. Freaking out (as I usually do about college relations) I decided to tune into the debate and see which candidate has the best idea in fixing this financial problem, so that I can go to college. Especially so I can go to college.

To my surprise, and my luck, the first question asked by Jim Lehrer was about the financial crisis! Although neither one of them answered the question directly (they were supposed to share their view point on the crisis) I thought that Senator Obama did much better in laying out his plan than McCain did. Once again, this was based on organization and how efficient his plans seem to be. I liked how Obama separated his into numbers, for example his second plan is to make sure that money goes back into the market, if the $700 billion bill were to pass. Maybe if McCain presented his plan with confidence I could consider his ideas but his lack of persuasion skills just throws me off.

Now, in terms of how the debate was as a whole I felt that it was not as intense and interesting as it could have been. I was expecting dogfights and roaring attacks when instead I got stuttering, indecisive answers, or any answers for that matter. The only intense moment I saw was when McCain was getting a little heated when they were talking about the War in Iraq but other than that I was not that enthused. Also the “informalities” taking place were kind of awkward. McCain decided not to talk to Obama directly while Obama got too comfortable and started calling him John. Since when were they on a first name basis…on any basis for that matter?

Well if this didn’t do it for me, maybe the Vice Presidential debate will have more to offer. Especially since Sarah Palin will be there…speaking…against Biden. Can’t wait! Until next time…

Chanel

CE WEEK #1

This week my current event follows the states that are in critical condition for the election. For example, Virginia could possibly defy its past elections by voting Democratic. However, I feel that Virginia will still vote Republican based on the bottom half of Virginia. But you never know.

Also the issue of Georgia. Now, maybe they could possibly vote Democrat because Obama has payed limbs just to campaign in that state. I would not be surprised if McCain's polls were down and Georgia, because honestly if I lived in Georgia and all I saw was Obama on the television it would totally get my vote because media influences everything.

So it will be interesting to see which states will go for who. And on the brightside, I finally found a computer that has great connection! Tune in for next time with my comments on the great debate!

WEEK #1 ELECTION POST

The days are counting down as November 4th, otherwise known as Election Day, is approaching. As everyone waits in anticipation, the issues and controversies between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are heating up, especially with the introduction of Sarah Palin of Alaska as McCain's running mate. So like most citizens in America I have my own opinion on what I believe in and the issues that I care most about.


First of all, prior to this Presidential Election I was not much of a political person. I was always influenced by my surroundings, like my family and my lack of knowledge hindered my chance at becoming "politically active." However, in the recent months all I have heard about is the 2008 Election and I thought that maybe this was something that I should be in tune with, especially since in the near future I am destined to be out in the politically driven world. Although I still side with my family on certain views, I now understand what these issues are all about and how they will effect the nation. So I have refined my own ideology and standards as if I were going to be a voter in the upcoming election.


Now, if I were to not vote for myself, which is iffy, I would definitely vote for Barack Obama. One reason is that my family and I have always followed a more liberal and democratic appeal in past elections and presently I feel that Obama, although "inexperienced", could do a great job as President. He communicates well with Americans and that is a positive point to me because I feel a connection with the government and my part rather than just listening and trying to understand. His personality really brightens up the image of politics for me and whenever I see him talk I always have a feeling of empowerment, that I can succeed if this man, the first African American to accept the candidacy for President, can stand up in front of thousands and show his true colors.


In terms of issues I stand pretty liberal on the social issues. For example, a woman should have the choice to go through with an abortion, same sex marriages should be allowed, and the gun laws should be under more control...because guns are scary. Now, although Obama wants to only legalize "civil unions" he is making the effort of change and believes that although in a civil union, gays, lesbians, etc. should have the same rights as those who are married as man and woman. McCain believes traditionally that marriage is between man and woman, but interestingly thinks it is up to the states on this issue. I can understand McCain's viewpoint and that he'd rather have people locally choose opposed to him changing the law and possibly making the wrong decision.


Another issue that is super important is the Economic status. For this one, I am for Obama all the way. He has a plan to help those in need, for example he will give a $250 tax cut to families with workers and also extensions of unemployment insurance. McCain wants to cut down the corporate tax by 10%, but for the sake of technology, not the people. I would rather want a president who will commit to the citizens of America first than its technology. Just saying...that I can trust a man with a well thought out and organized plan...but I'm just saying.


So as the weeks go on I will elaborate on more of my political standing and my progress of becoming president. Don't forget to participate in the poll on the right and while you're at it, catch up on the latest celebrity gossip or beat your highest score in Breakout! Until the next time!

Your Fellow American,
Chanel