Washington Interns

Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware and Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the vice presidential nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, will debate each other at 8 p.m. (CDT) Oct. 2 in the Washington University in St. Louis Athletic Complex.

Gwen Ifill, a longtime correspondent and moderator for public broadcasting programs The NewsHour and Washington Week, has been selected to moderate the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate.

Tickets are available for students through the University, or through CPD for public audiences.  Tickets for the event are extremely limited in nature, so get on it ASAP! 

Additional information is available at: http://debate.wustl.edu/home.php

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Friday that Barack Obama’s policies would have led to defeat in both Iraq and Afghanistan and possibly pushed the entire Middle East into war, stepping up his criticism of his Democratic rival.

“Sen. Obama told the American people what he thought you wanted to hear. I told you the truth,” McCain said in defending his support for President Bush’s decision to build up forces in Iraq.

Obama, touring the Middle East and Europe, has called for a withdrawal over 16 months.

I’ll leave you all to ponder Obama’s stance on Iraq and allow you to draw your own inferences on what would occur if Obama is allowed to implement what he’s proposing…pretty much impossible without chaos right? Exactly.

On Thursday, Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain stated that he agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule the D.C. gun ban. McCain called ruling a “landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom” Voicing a stance that could help him win over conservatives and libertarians, McCain said, “This ruling does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms.”

On the other hand, Senator Barack Obama tried to avoid the issue by saying that he favors an individual’s right to bear firearms as well as a government’s right to regulate them. In an attempt to appeal to moderates and the more liberal, Obama said local governments should be able to regulate guns, but did not say as to whether he agreed with the Court’s overturn of the D.C. ban. But he said Thursday’s ruling “will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.”

“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through commonsense, effective safety measures,” Obama said.

Obama said his view was supported by the court’s ruling that the Constitution does not permit “the absolute prohibition of handguns.” That language “reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe,” Obama said.

Both presidential candidates endorse an individual’s right to bear arms. But they strongly differ beyond that. McCain has had a mostly conservative record on the issue; Obama, a mostly liberal record.

Source: Associated Press (AP) - Thursday, June 26, 2008

For nearly 32 years, Washington D.C. has had a law that banned handguns in the district for private individuals. This law has been challenged multiple times, and is finally put to rest today as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the law, saying that is a violation of 2nd Amendment rights. District officials are not happy with the Court’s decision but have 21 days to develop rules to comply. Those who now want to carry firearms will have to apply, and prove that they are responsible, mentally competent adults, and will have to be fingerprinted. Also, there will be an amnesty program for those who have already have unregistered weapons. Automatic weapons, however, are still banned in the district.

We’ve all probably noticed the drastic rise in airfares and other unnecessary fees lately as rising fuel costs continue to hurt American airline companies across the nation. Airlines such as American Airlines (AA), the world’s largest carrier, has begun charging for checked bags in economy class, as well as reducing its domestic flights by a whopping 12%! Airlines are also beginning to save on expenses by consolidating jobs and laying off thousands of American workers.

This will only continue to get worse if fuel prices continue to increase…most airline stock have steadily declined over the last couple years, especially in recent months, and some companies may even be liquidated in the new future…Consumers should be aware that fares and fees will continue to rise as airlines report more and more in losses each quarter. Some of our favorite airline companies may even wind up extinct and join the likes of TWA, Pan Am, and Eastern Airlines, as large airlines that have disbanded and gone out of service.

Pray for lower fuel costs for us all…both the American consumer and the Airlines, because it truly would be mutually beneficial if fuel costs were reduced…

Apparently Shaq freestyles from time to time, most recently being shown in a 10-minute video rapping and bashing Kobe! He was hating on Kobe for not being able to win another championship…”You know how I be,” Shaq rapped. “Last week Kobe couldn’t do without me.” Although he said he was just freestyling and didn’t mean any harm to Kobe, we all know that’s likely not true…C’mon Kobe really hasn’t won an NBA title since Shaq was a Laker…

Regardless, this is very interesting since I haven’t heard of an NBA star rapping…it’s usually the other way around…with rappers playing basketball.