The Presidential Lunch Date

Do you think that Romney and Obama had a productive meeting over lunch?

What is your opinion on these meetings?

Does Romney have new ideas and plans that will be beneficial to solve the issues facing the country?

Let me know your opinion on my questions or anything else you have to say about their meeting.

Illinois legislature goes "Lame Duck"

Well now that the election season is over and the dust has settled the Democrats have developed a veto proof majority in both chambers of the Illinois legislature. Leaders have stated tho that the new make up will not lead to rubber stamping for Governor Quinn's initiatives. If anything the legislature will now be able to do what it wishes such as sweep away a Quinn veto on issues such as gambling.

Thought before the newly elected state representatives and state senators get to Springfield the General Assembly enters its veto session, aka lame duck session. These next few weeks will be spent attempting to work out deals on the huge controversial issues of the year like pension reform, with legislators who will be out of a job in 1 months time. I believe that they will shoulder the blame of causing the needed cuts to occur.

Other issues that are most definitively to come up are:

E-15 Tax Credit - The shift of current tax credits to encourage E-15 as a new blend of gas and ethanol. E-15 has been approved by the US EPA for all automobiles makes 2001 or newer.This new tax credit shift would save the state a substantial amount of money along with helping boost the need for more corn based ethanol made right here in the state.

Medical Marijuana - There is a resolution in the legislature that would relax the ban on marijuana in the state of Illinois to allow for it to be used for medical purposes only. The measure barely lost an up or down vote earlier in the last legislative session and will be debated in Veto Session.



What do you expect to come of this veto session? Do you think anything will get done?

Turmoil in the Middle East!

With Israel and Gaza constantly trading rockets and mortars, the global community sits and watches hoping for no further escalation.

President Obama sent Sec. of State Hilary Clinton to the region to discuss the issues and push for a move to "deescalation and a broader calm". Secretary Clinton just met with the Prime Minister of Israel and will go on to Egypt and Palestine in the morning to meet with more leaders.

These actions in the middle east will effects the U.S. almost directly. Israel is our major ally in the area and if they go to war we will no doubt come to their aid. The last thing we want to see are Israel forces marching on Gaza and a full fledged war breaking out.

I think that the President needs to step up his involvement in the situation may need to take place if Israel doesn't back down and agree for a cease fire. Diplomacy needs to be used to develop a long term solution that will provide for more stability in the region.

I encourage you all to follow the news coverage on the situation in Gaza because it directly effects the stability in the region and the United States national security.

If you lost there is still recourse..secession!

I can say that I completely floored by the idea that so many people are talking about seceding from the Union. I guess it is not that hard to petition the white house to allow your state to leave the USA. At We The People , the official White House  petition website, citizens can create and share online petitions.

Currently the top petition is the plight of Texans who wish to secede form the Union and they have received over 100 thousands signatures. There is now officially a secession petition from all 50 states.

The White House and Obama's Administration will comment on petitions once they reach the signature threshold of 25 thousand. Currently there has been nor official response form the White House on the secession movements but I expect to hear one soon.

Explore this website and see what other petitions have been filed as well as the official responses of the White House. It is interesting to hear the White House's plans to remedy the situations.

What do you think about all these secession movements?

Would you leave the USA just because of a lost election?

What's new?

I have been following post election coverage and looking for other blogs that are discussing the aftermath. I found this blog about how the republicans mourning with the loss.

I would love to hear and see what other things are being said out there!

Where are the people trying to secede from the Union?

If you know any site or blogs please post the links in the comments.

2016?

Well if you watched TV today all you probably heard about was who will be running in 2016!

I can't count the amount of times I have heard about 2016 today already. With the President Obama beginning his final term in office there are those in the media already spreading rumors about who will be replacing him.

We still have 4 years to go and so many issues that need to be dealt with before the next presidential election. I honestly do not care right now who is possibly going to be running for President in 2016, I want these individuals doing their current jobs and not looking to move up. When politicians focus only on advancement they tend to get less done because they are worried about how their actions will effect their chances for the White House.

Where are the stories on the Farm Bill, the Budget, Military Sequestration, and the multitude of other issues that our country is dealing with. My message to CNN and FOXNews is to focus on the huge issues our country still has to deal with between now and 2016 and not who will run for President 4 years from now!

What do you think about these stories about 2016? What issues should be getting more coverage in the media over these rumors?

Election Update: “Whats Next?” “Continued Gridlock?”

             This election cycle did not disappoint, it was full of ups and down and the occasional surprise. I, like probably most of America, was up late last night frantically following the vote totals waiting to see who would be the next President. It was a close hard fought campaign and I feel that both men gave it their all, unfortunately there had to be a winner and a loser like always. President Obama will take the victory and highlighted his goals for the next 4 years in his speech last night.

Though the presidential race was the most televised and it was not the only race yesterday as you know. A big story was the battle over which party would control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as you know the Republicans held a majority in House while the Democrats had a slim majority in the Senate. Both parties waged massive and expensive campaigns in attempted to gain more seats in this election. Here in Illinois there were 6 highlighted congressional races that Democrats’ set their sights on picking up, in hopes of gaining a majority in the House. They fell short on Tuesday and were only able to swing 4 of the 6, yet there was no change in the balance of power in Washington D.C.

So, just over 4 billion dollars later nothing has changed in government except maybe the sentiment. The Democrats retain the Presidency and majority in the Senate while the Republicans keep control of the House. The questions I find myself asking now following the election is “What is going to happen now?” and “How will the next congress work together to fix the issues facing the nation?”

When I woke up today and turned on the news all I have been hearing about in the election aftermath and the looming “Fiscal Cliff”. The Fiscal Cliff is the compilation of Bush Era Tax Cuts that are set to expire at the same time as $100 billion Spending Cuts go into effect January 1st. Many economic experts fear that these both will cause the US to fall into another recession. Legislators are on record calling for the needed action to prevent the Fiscal Cliff as soon as possible, yet nothing has been done. Now it’s up to the lame-duck Congress to sort out that along with other crucial legislation such as the Farm Bill, Budget Reform as well as issues with the Debt Ceiling.

Although these issues have been sitting on the back burner for so long I am optimistic that they will be addressed soon. Yesterday, both the Majority Leader of the Senate, Sen. Harry Reid (D), and the Speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner (R), made public statements on the election outcomes and the future path that this nation. Both addressed the major issues that are facing our country and talked about the importance of working together to break the gridlock. This is a step in the right direction, but, there are still more questions to be asked and more debates to be had as we work to fix the issues that have plagued us for so long.

Through all of this I am optimistic that a change for the better is on the horizon. I believe that today is a new day in Washington D.C. and truly hope that our elected officials begin to work with each other again to put our country back on the path to success and prosperity. 

FINALLY HERE! ELECTION DAY!

Well today is the day we have all been waiting for. All the ads have been played all of the calls have been made and all of the speeches have been given.

Polls are just about out to close across the US and soon we will know who will be the next President!

Don't forget about all of the House and Senate seats that were up for election as well.

With exit polls and just being released and the first results are being published it is set to be a very interesting night!

"I Voted" Will You?

I was able to take advantage of early voting here in Illinois this week. I got to avoid the long lines and waits on election day!

Will you be voting? Do you know where your polling places are? 

If not, check your county's website or your county clerk's website! All the information you need will be available for you to ensure you know your polling place and the hours that they will be open. 

It is always best to vote early rather than waiting. Every year people wait til the last minute and are forced to wait in long lines and it is a hassle you can save yourself from.

DON'T FORGET A PHOTO ID!! Many states and counties require you to show identification before you can vote!

This is my sticker will you get yours?

Worst Ads of this election cycle!

Ads what are they good for?

I have been watching TV a lot recently to see all the attack advertisements that the campaigns have been rolling out in the last week. With Election Day on Tuesday this week has been an ad blitz by the campaigns in the battle ground states.

I have never believed that political advertisements are persuasive or actually effect the vote totals yet millions of dollars have been spent on advertising this year. The negative ads are always the worst and believed to be the most persuasive by campaigns.

I found this article from the Flackcheck.org that effectively highlights some of the worst and most controversial ads of this election cycle.

The LA Times has a good list of other ads from this year as well.

What do you think of the political ads? Do they change your mind?

Here is a picture of the spending amounts for this presidential election compared to 2008.