Obama says he's furious about oil spill but loves 'best job on Earth'

On Larry King on Thursday Obama told Larry that he is furious about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But he also said that him getting mad and yelling at everyone won't help the situation and that we all need to work on a solution for this major problem that is occuring down south. Larry said his most recent approval rating was at 48%, and Obama considered that to be pretty good considering the circumstances that he is under and all the events that are happening in the United States and the World. Obama stated that he was furious because someone did not think through the consequences of their actions and it ended up costing the environment and the nation big time. He said that BP is accountable for all the costs that will happen to fix this mess and he is there to make sure that they pay it all and find a solution to the problem.

I think that Obama is in the right here. Who wouldn't get a little mad at this type of horrific event? He has to make sure that BP is the one's responsible for this event and that the U.S doesn't have to bail out a company that is destroying the environment for all of us. This is one of the biggest natural disasters that has ever happened so BP should not get any help in paying for it but the country will certainly help clean up their mess so that we can go out and enjoy the outdoors again and the fisherman and many others can get back to work and start making money for their families again.

Ohio court: Police estimates of speeders good enough for conviction

A new law has been put in effect where a police estimation of how fast you were going is good enough to issue a speeding ticket. An officer can simply guess the speed a motorist is going and then proceed to give them a ticket with no visual proof of the speed they were driving. A court case named "City of Barberton vs. Jenney" played a key role in this law. Jenney claimed he wasn't speeding and the officer had no proof of his radar gun certificate. After that the cop said he has had many years of experience and knew for a fact that the driver was speeding. The officer won the case and Jenney paid the $170.00 fine.

I think that this law is terrible. In ANY court case there should have to be proof from each side to prove their point, it shouldn't be one persons word vs. the other. In this case, the police officers word is obviously going to stand up better against a normal civilians. I think that this is wrong and if the cop had no proof that he was speeding the motorist shouldn't have to pay a fine and should be free to go.

Controversy over new World Cup ball

In every world cup that is held every four years there is always controversy over the ball that is used. The past three world cups there was controversy, one was said to be too heavy and one was too light and one was too bouncy. This years official ball was given to the teams and again, controversy. Spain's goal keeper said that the ball is very close to a beach ball. Not good. The players are saying that undoubtedly there will be goals scored with this ball that could not be scored with the normal balls they use in their home countries. Other players are saying that the balls are very unpredictable in the air and the lightweight ball is very hard to control.

I think that this is ridiculous for the players to be so against the ball they are using. There is no way that the maker of the ball is going to be able to satisfy every single country that is in the cup. They made a very aerodynamic ball that uses a lot of technology. The teams should be able to get used to the new ball after a few practices. Then the playing field is even, everyone is going to have to use the same ball so no one can put up a legitimate complaint about how the ball isn't exactly what they wanted. Just go out there and have fun with the ball you are given and make your country proud.

BP guides new cap toward spewing well

On Thursday robot submarines steered a new cap towards the broken undersea oil well. This is the latest attempt from BP to stop the spewing oil from continuing to come into the ocean at a big rate. Earlier in the day Thursday they cut away the remains of the damaged cap in order to make room for the cap they are planning to put on. The cap is nearly 5,000 ft. below the surface which makes visibility very slim and also makes it hard to do anything. The original plan was to use a diamond cutter which would have left a very nice cut and made a nice seal, but the plan failed and they had to resort to more of a sheers cutter that won't create as nice of a seal but it will suck up a lot of the oil.

I think that this is a fairly good idea. Something has to be done to stop this oil from gushing into the ocean. Any idea is a good idea at this point and I am very much hoping that this plan will work successfully. Even if the cap does not get all the oil it's still way better than what it is right now. I think it's kind of pathetic how BP is asking anyone in the country for solutions to their screw up. They should have many many back up plans for a disaster for this but they don't, they failed. But it's time to move past the blame game and get the problem fixed and save the environment.

Maytag Corp. recalls 1.7 million dishwashers

Maytag corporation recalled 1.7 Million dishwashers that were made from February 2006 to April 2010. The electrical in the heating units can fail which can pose a serious fire risk. Maytag recieved 12 reports of their units catching fire, all were caused by the electrical in the heating unit. They have set up a website for which anyone can check if their Maytag dishwasher's serial number matches that of the one's that are being recalled. If their serial number does match they can choose whether they want a rebate towards a new unit or to get it fixed for free.

From what I have heard Maytag makes very good appliances and has a very good record for making quality machines. But now the Maytag repair men are going to have a lot of work to do if all these people that are affected want their units fixed. Any company will have a product that goes wrong..I mean look at Toyota. So I won't hold this against their reputation I think it's just a minor bump in the road for their corporation. Hopefully all these units will get replaced or fixed so no one's homes are destroyed or no lives are lost.

Nevada man sentenced to death for killing student

A Nevada pipe fitter was sentenced to the death penalty after killing a 19-year old student. Along with that he also had a sexual assault charge, and also two other assault charges on a string of crimes he had committed. Two of the girls that were assaulted had substantial evidence against him and there was DNA evidence that linked him to the scene of the crime. The jury deliberated for three hours then came upon their decision, and the judge then decided to issue the death penalty.

I think he definitely deserved the death penalty for his crimes. It seems like too may times people get away with 10-20 years of prison for such horrific acts of anger and violence. I do not want to be walking down a street knowing there are criminals that have killed people in their lives. Attached to that he has two assaults on two college age girls, who are around my age, that is just scary. There is no reason a man like him should be given the same freedoms as everyone else in America has.

Ex-FEMA chief: Obama using oil spill to his advantage

Former FEMA chief Michael Brown is insulting and bashing Obama saying that this oil rig disaster is just what the government has been waiting for. Now they have a reason to stop off shore oil drilling while the rest of the world excels by doing so. Obama has been trying to get away from all carbon emissions that are caused by energy sources. Now, Brown says, the government has a legitimate reason to stop such events from happening. Brown resigned from the FEMA position shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast with little preparation from anyone.

I think that it's terrible that Michael Brown, a man who failed miserably during a natural disaster, would go off like this on our president. He has no history of doing anything good for our country and when he was faced with a problem he failed. There is no place for this. He is placing way too many assumptions on the Obama administration that they will use this and completely shut down all offshore drilling options. They may use this as an example of how it can be harmful but i'm sure they understand that we still rely heavily on oil and that we will need to continue drilling for it in the future because we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/05/brown.obama.oil.spill/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Does the oil spill put seafood restaurants at risk?

Many popular seafood restaurants in New Orleans depend heavily on the sale of their oysters. The looming oil slick off the coast of Louisiana is posing a huge threat to the oyster industry in Louisiana and in all surrounding areas. But oysters isn't all that is at risk, all seafood in New Orleans is at risk and will certainly be effected heavily by the oil rig explosion that occurred miles off the coast of the shoreline. Nearly 40% of all seafood that is used by restaurants in the U.S comes from the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill severely limits the number of fishing spots off the coast and will surely put many hundreds to thousands of fisherman out of work for now.

This oil spill is greatly impacting all of the coastline along the gulf of Mexico. I think that this is a cry and shame for all of the wildlife off the coast to be tortured like this due to our negligence to saving the environment. BP should have a lot of guilt for killing so many animals and putting so many people out of work. Now the government will have to step in and enforce all the safety hazards and other ways to help them with their safety. It's too bad to see all these home town restaurants and other businesses be put at risk for one companies negligence and foul play.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/05/oil.spill.seafood.restaurants/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Patches of oil spotted near Louisiana bayous

Authorities battled the Gulf of Mexico's oil spill as it nears the Louisiana Bayous. The oil is now within two miles of the shoreline. An oyster fisherman spotted an oil sheen 40 miles southeast of New Orleans. Fisherman from all walks of life are being trained in on how to keep oil away from the precious marshes and swamplands of the Louisiana coastline. Volunteers, wildlife officials and National Guard troops are also putting floating booms along the beaches and shorelines to try and prevent the oil from reaching the shoreline. BP has plans to deploy a containment chamber on top of the broken oil pipe. This would hopefully contain the spilling oil that is rapidly spewing out of the ocean floor. Eventually they will have another rig built next to it to permanently contain all the oil and get all the oil going where it is supposed to go.

I think that this spill is just terrible. There is no reason why this should ever happen. BP should have done something a long time ago that would have prevented such an event from ever happening. We live in a world today that is so environmentally friendly and is trying to make the world a better place for us all to live in. Then something like this happens and it completely reverses all our efforts that have been put in place over the last few years. The government will now have to step in and put restrictions and mandates that will require all oil companies to put restrictions and emergency stoppers on all oil rigs. Which in return will cause oil prices to go up and our gas prices to rise yet again.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/05/gulf.oil.spill/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Haiti gets nearly $10B in aid pledges

A wide variety of international donors pledged nearly 10 billion dollars in relief effort for the earthquake that occurred in the country. This occurred at a day-long conference at the United Nations headquarters. The UN secretary urged more than 100 donors in attendance from around the world to provide 11.5 billion dollars over the next 10 years to reconstruct the Nation that was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake in January. More than 5 billion of this money will be readily available over the next 18 months. The rest will be available over the coming years if needed to construct their island.

I think that it is great that people are willing to donate huge sums of money to people who are in desperate need of the money. The whole world has really pulled together to help this poor devastated nation and it will surely be greatly appreciated by the Haitians. 10 billions dollars is a huge amount of money but i can image that this amount of money will only get a good start ont eh reconstruction efforts. Because rebuilding an entire nation to a state of which it will be way better than that of what it was before will cost much more than the money that is being given to them. But hopefully their economy will recover and they can support themselves along with the world's help.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/31/haiti.donors/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Autopsy: SeaWorld trainer died from drowning, traumatic injuries

The autopsy report for the SeaWorld trainer that was killed at work have been released. She was drug under water by a 12,000 lb killer whale. She was killed on February 24th while working with a whale named "Tilikum". The whale grabbed her by her pony tail and drug her under water. It is reported that her spine was severed. Also she had fractures to her vertebrae, ribs, and her jawbone. Rescuers were not able to reach her right away because of the whales aggressive nature. Her body was finally recovered forty minutes later from the pool. This whale has been linked to two other casualties but SeaWorld has said that they have no intentions of getting rid of this whale because it is normally very kind and playful.

I think that if this whale has caused two other casualties there must be something done with it. It is clearly dangerous and is a hazard for the trainers to be near it. I know i wouldn't feel safe if I knew that the whale had killed three people in it's lifetime. I know that they can't just get rid f the whale or kill it because animal rights people would be very upset with that decision. But I think that more training or something has to be done to give this whale more anger management because it is a risk to the trainers the way it is right now.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/31/florida.seaworld.autopsy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

4 dead in D.C. shooting

Four people were shot and killed Wednesday in Washington D.C. Authorities said multiple shooters opened fire on a crowds Tuesday night. The shootings prompted a lengthy police chase that ended with the arrest of three men. Four officers have been treated due to injuries from an accident that occurred during the chase. An assault rifle was recovered that was used by one of the gun man. There was another shooting on nearby Galveston Street but it wasn't reported to be related to the other shooting in any way. Investigations are under way and no details have been released as of now.

I think that this is too bad that this had to happen. It's just ridiculous how clueless and reckless people are when they take another human beings life. I hope the suspects get many years in jails. Hopefully they get life sentences for their actions. There is no reason that we should have these people on our streets again because i know that i would never trust them with all the freedom we have here in America. I have sympathy for the victims families and their pursuit to get the suspects behind bars for a long period of time, if not life behind bars.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/31/dc.shootings/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Flooding affects roads, train service in Northeast

Rhode Island and other pats of the Northeast have been hit hard by steady rain falls that have caused severe flooding in these areas of the U.S. Rhode Islands Gov. said "looking at the positives the water is starting to recede". No fatalities have been caused by the flooding in Rhode Island but there have been some bad accidents caused by the flood. It shows that the citizens are very resilient and respectful of how much damage water can truly do to cars and houses in flood conditions. The rain finally let up today. In the capital city Providence, nearly 8.75 inches of rain have accumulated from the major storm.

My sympathies go out to all the families that have been effected by these flood waters. I have seen first hand the damage that can be done by massive amounts of water. There is sometimes no way to leave the flood waters so you just have to stay in one place and watch the flood waters destroy everything in it's path. I am pleasantly surprised that there have been no fatalities reported from this flood. Normally you get people that just dont respect the power of the flood, but in this case it look like everyone has been very smart and are staying away from the rapidly flowing high waters.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/03/31/northeast.flood.fears/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Obama energy plan would open Atlantic and Gulf drilling

Today President Barack Obama Presented plans that show interest in drilling off the Atlantic shore and in the Gulf of Mexico. This plan will impress the energy industry but will upset the environmentalists. The plan would include a 20-year ban on drilling of the Virginia coastline. Parts of Alaska however could be used for drilling sites. Drilling would occur more than 125 miles off the coast of Florida. He has given this issue much thought but in the end he decided that t would improve our economy and reduce our dependency on precious foreign oil on which we heavy depend on today.

I think that this plan definitely has a lot of positives but also a lot of negatives that are mostly environmental. It would save the U.S a lot of money by not depending so much on foreign countries and it would get our nose out of their business and maybe we could leave the middle east alone and worry about ourselves for once. But i also think that it disturbs natural beauty in Alaska and we don't want to risk another disaster with oil spills and such. I think that the price of gas would go way down in America but our taxes would probably go up a tad to pay for all the oil rigs being put up.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/31/obama.energy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Google quits censoring search in China

On Monday Google announced that it has stopped censoring search results in China. The announcement came upon speculation that Google was going to completely pull out of China and it now sets up a showdown with the communist government. Google said they want as many people around the world to use their services as possible, so serving China is for the best for the corporation. They are fully aware that at any time the government could ban their services but for now Google is still in China a completely uncensored.

I think that this is a good move for Google to get more population using their resources. Who knows how the Chinese government will react to this but for now it is a good move. I'm sure the Chinese people will appreciate having Google available for use in their country. I'm anxious to see how this will work out in the future between this corporation and the country, it'll be interesting that's for sure.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/22/google.china/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

10 states line up to sue over health bill, Florida AG says

On Monday Florida's attorney general announced that ten states are lined up to sue over the new health care reform bill being pushed by Obama and the Democrats. Once Obama signs it the states will put a lawsuit in place. The lawsuits would be about law and not politics. The states are Alabama, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington. The house of representatives passed the bill Sunday night and Obama is scheduled to sign it on Tuesday. It would challenge the peoples freedom to get health insurance or not and people shouldn't HAVE to buy it says these states.

I think that having a health care reforms have positives and also a lot of negatives. It's taking away peoples freedom which we cherish so dearly in this country. It is going to cost people who are already covered spend more money on other people who they aren't responsible for. But it does cover all the Americans who do not have coverage currently which is good for our country. I really don't know all the politics behind it so i'm unsure if it is really a good thing or a bad thing for our country.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/22/health.care.lawsuit/index.html

FEMA chief to survey Red River flooding

The red river crested at 36.99 ft in Fargo over the weekend. Much less than last years crest. Once the level returns to thirty ft the city of Fargo can start to remove the sand bags along the river. No major damage was done to the city and all major dikes and sandbag walls stood strong. Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was expected to tour Fargo on Monday to survey the area's response to the high waters. 10 people have been rescued by the Coast Guard since the flooding has began. More than 1 million sandbags have been used to keep the water from damaging city property and neighborhoods.

I think that the two cities were very prepared and did a very good job. It is very impressive to see all this effort to go towards the flood efforts. They can use this year as something to look back on and use it to better prepare for next years flood. Maybe even put in a damn or a river diversion to prevent this issue completely in the future. It's nice to see that the whole nation will recognize the efforts minnesotans and north dakotans put in to disaster avoidance and prevention. Overall I'm very impressed at this years flood prevention efforts.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/03/22/severe.weather/index.html

The Federal Budget Issue # 2

Spending what we can't afford. In 2007 Congress passed pay as you go budgeting. It requires that any tax increases in entitlement spending must be offset with spending reductions in other places in the budget. People who are for this say that it is necessary to show that congress understands that deficits matter and should be contained. On the other hand opponents to it say that it is the wrong approach, they say that instead of limiting spending, paygo will merely result in raising taxes in new programs which will hurt the U.S economy.

I am for this solution that was put in place by congress. If they want to pass a new bill or law that will effect the budget they will now have to realize that the bill or law will effect another part of the economy any will have a new tax added on. I think it will eliminate spending that is unnecessary and will help out our budget over time.

NASA launches Solar Dynamics Observatory

NASA has launched the Atlas V rocket that will capture the sun in greater detail than ever before. The agency says it will provide a better understanding of the sun and how it plays a role in major weather events such as solar flares, which can wreak havok on earth. The rocket will return images with 10 times better resolution than HD television. This rocket may help predict space weather, right now there is no way to do such a thing. The rocket was originally supposed to launch in August of 2008 but more testing was needed to launch it.

It think that launching a rocket towards the sun is a great idea. It will help astronauts better predict space weather being that right now there is no real way to predict what space weather is going to happen. For me it would be really cool to see these images of the sun with such great resolution. I have never seen up close images that provide a lot of detail. It would be really nice to see solar flares in action. Overall I think NASA had a good idea here.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/02/11/solar.dynamics.observatory/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

The I Pad

Yesterday Apple introduced their new gadget called the "I Pad". It is a really cool device that is a mixture between their I Pod Touch and a Mac book. It is completely touch screen and and has the capability to do everything that a computer can do. It is only a half of and inch thick and has a 9.5" LED screen. It will be a lot cheaper than a mac book is but much more than an I pod Touch is. It will be at $500.00 for their lowest end model.
I think that this idea and product is very impressive. I mean, I want one. It is very cool, light, and convenient. The only issue i see with it is that it looks very fragile and it may be hard to store for long periods of time. It looks actually like its magic. I have an I pod touch and its amazing. I can't imagine a huge version of it that has the abilities that a computer has. It is a very very imppressive gadget in my eyes and i think it will revolutionize the technology industry.



http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/27/apple.tablet/index.html