Republican Debate

Yesterday, several candidates battling for the Republican presidential nomination competed in the first of many debates in this election cycle. Here’s the breakdown:

Michele Bachmann:
When asked about the debate, she said that, “I wasn't thinking about performance. I was really just thinking about President Obama and what we can do to make sure that he is a one-term president, because frankly, he hasn't done a great job serving the interests of the American people.”

I agree--she wasn’t thinking about performance. While criticizing Obama for extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who are out of work (instead of passing tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans); or ending the Iraq War and bringing out troops home; ending the discriminatory policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; or passing comprehensive health-insurance reform that focused on making Americans healthier; she did not mention that she supported the proposal from the Republican Study Committee to cut Medicare benefits for millions of senior citizens. She also stated that she wants to repeal “ObamaCare”, even though the Congressional Budget Office estimated that repealing the Affordable Care Act would “probably increase federal budget deficits over the 2012–2019 period by a total of roughly $145 billion…and through 2021 brings the projected increase in deficits to something in the vicinity of $230 billion,” (Congressional Budget Office, 1/6/2011).

Herman Cain:
Apparently ALL Muslim-Americans are terrorists. More specifically, he thinks, “a lot of Muslims are not totally dedicated to this country," and that he'd refuse to appoint a Muslim to his cabinet. That’s exactly what we need!

Ron Paul:
According to him, Social Security is unconstitutional; the Federal Reserve is useless; and military spending is a waste.

Rick Santorum:
The former Senator from Pennsylvania supports privatizing Social Security. But as a major source of income for most of the elderly, we cannot afford to take a risk with the nearly 55 million Americans who receive monthly Social Security checks.

He also opposed Obama’s auto-industry bailout, which has now proved to have saved millions of American jobs as GM and Chrysler have repaid their debts and have turned out profits.

Newt Gingrich:
Almost all of his campaign staff quit last week and he only recently paid off his $500,000 bill to a jewelry company. Further, prior to the debate, he claimed he was against the Republican Medicare plan that would impose “radical change.” (Great!) But he later reversed himself and said that he “made a mistake” and that the plan was actually a good idea.

He also said that Obama’s extension of unemployment benefits was “fundamentally wrong to give people money for 99 weeks to do nothing.” Apparently giving added assistance to those who were forced out of work (and looking for new jobs) due to the corporate greed on Wall Street and Republican insistence on outsourcing jobs to “lower costs” is a bad thing. Clearly, it makes more sense to give that money to the top-earners.

Tim Pawlenty:
During his tenure as Minnesota governor, taxes decreased for the wealthiest 10 percent and increased for 90 percent of middle and lower-income families. And although he aggressively opposed the Recovery Act, “nearly one-third of Tim Pawlenty’s budget fix would rely on $387 million in federal stimulus money.” (Minnesota Star Tribune, 2/16/2010)

Also, he recently had tied Obama's health care law to Romney's health care law in Massachusetts, using the word "Obamneycare," but, he refused to say so again at the debate. Talk about aggressive leadership.

Mitt Romney:
Last, but certainly not least, is the great Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. Of all the GOP candidates eyeing for the presidency, Mr. Romney would probably win my vote. After all, during his tenure as governor, he successfully passed a law requiring every citizen in his state to buy health insurance (no, this isn’t the “ObamaCare” bill everyone keeps referring to). By passing universal healthcare in Massachusetts, he had accomplished a longtime Democratic goal (even before Obama could!).And he’s not too bad on the eyes, either.

During the debate, he called for American troops to return from Afghanistan as soon as possible, declaring that “Our troops shouldn’t go off and try to fight a war of independence for another nation.” And even though he has consistently supported the Bush Administration's Iraq decisions back in 2008, I couldn’t agree more with his recent flip-flop.

But no GOP candidate is without their flaws. During the debate, he questioned, “why isn't the president leading? He isn't leading on balancing our budget, and he's not leading on jobs. He's failed the American people both in job creation and in the scale of government, and that's why he's not going to be reelected."

Here’s 2 reasons why Obama has failed--

-When elected, he immediately passed a $700 billion stimulus which invested in every major sector of economy. Specifically, this focused on improving our infrastructure, thus providing immediate employment to a struggling workforce; the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, providing tax cuts and lending approval for small businesses; the Emergency Jobs Bill, giving states relief to keep over 150,000 teachers and police officers employed; and the Emergency Homeowner Loan Bill that helped millions avoid foreclosure.

-The unemployment rate (at 9.1%) is a full percentage point lower than what it was just a few months ago (November showed a nearly 10% unemployment rate). And although this rate increased from the 8.8% in March, reports show that the reason for the increase was that discouraged workers who had previously stopped looking for jobs had actually returned to the labor force. A recent report by the Labor Department showed that the number of people who had been out of work for more than 6 months fell by 280,000 and that small businesses had added over 800,000 jobs this year (14 consecutive months of private growth)

On the other hand, as governor of Massachusetts, Romney had one of the worst job-creation records in the country, ranked 47th out of 50 states in job creation –gaining only 1 percent in payroll jobs during his term, compared to the 5.3 percent national average. (Factcheck.org, 1/11/2008).

Although these candidates can’t run on their own records, they are certainly uniting in their efforts to bash President Obama’s successes and move our country backwards. 2012 here we come!

Justice Has Been Served

Think back to where you were on 9/11/2001. I was in the 7th grade, walking to my math class, when I heard rumors of a bomb going off in the capital. When I got to class, my teacher turned on the television only to inform us that the situation was far worse than we could ever expect.

For the years since 9/11, I was slightly relieved to hear that the terrorist behind those attacks had been on the run, living in small and isolated caves awaiting his fatal destiny. However, we soon learned that he has, instead, been living openly in an expensive and luxurious mansion just miles away from an elite Pakistani military academy and the country’s capital city. The mass murderer who was responsible for the largest and most devastating attack on U.S. soil was living in relative comfort.

But just as I will never forget that gloomy morning, I will always remember that glorious night on 5/1/2011—the evening that President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden was dead.

Although I do not believe in celebrating anyone’s demise, a good friend of mine (Robert Parrish) reminded me that we Americans are celebrating not the death of a human being, but rather the elimination of the face of terrorism that put Americans on edge for the past 10 years and that started one (arguably two) wars which have yielded few victories.

For those still uncomfortable with the death of bin Laden, I ask you to think of the thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were taken from us that sad morning. I ask you to think of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day so that we can enjoy freedoms that other nations can only dream of. The death of this terrorist provides the American people with some sense of cloture and provides us with “liberty and justice for all.”

The news of bin Laden’s death brought back that sense of unity and pride that we, as a nation, have not felt since the aftermath of the attacks. It has certainly been a refreshing, yet bittersweet, reflection of the spirit of America. For a brief moment, we gave strength to those famous words on the back of the dollar bill: E pluribus unum—“Out of many, one.”

But now I hear some Republicans, the same ones who have been scorning the president as weak and ineffectual in foreign policy, arguing that the capture of bin Laden is a result of continuing the policies established by President George W. Bush. I disagree.

I am a strong believer in giving credit where it is due. And both presidents do deserve credit. The kind of covert operation that ensued Sunday night is a result of cumulated information that we started gathering after invading Afghanistan under President Bush’s leadership. However, the war in Iraq shifted much of the needed resources from Afghanistan and lost focus on the real target.

When President Obama took office, however, he insisted that we end the Iraq War and refocus on Afghanistan and Pakistan to hunt down the man who had become an international symbol of terrorism and American weakness. As a result, Obama was able to accomplish a great victory and a “Mission Accomplished” in two years that Bush could not do in eight. And as far as I am concerned, if the economy is completely under Obama’s control, so is everything else—including this mission.

So for those that questioned President Obama’s leadership, or have any doubts about his ability to be tough or decisive, Sunday night should have proven you wrong.

However, as I mentioned before, the real credit goes to all of our brave military members. This should NOT be a time of partisan politics and bickering. Instead, we should pay respect to the thousands who have been negatively affected by bin Laden’s torturous tenure. Justice has been served, and that should be the end of it.

As Obama mentioned in his announcement, bin Laden’s death reminded everyone of the pride shared by Americans in "what this nation stands for and what we can achieve that runs far deeper than party, far deeper than politics…It is my fervent hope that we can harness some of that unity and some of that pride to confront the many challenges we still face.”

Even Steven Colbert understands: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/383525/may-03-2011/obama-takes-credit-for-bin-laden-s-assassination

Mission Accomplished!

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Today, I am proud of President George W. Bush.
Today, I am proud of President Obama.
Today, I am proud of our amazing men and women of the armed forces!
Today, I am so proud to be an American!

On September 11, 2001, four U.S. planes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The attack killed nearly 3,000 brave men, women, and children in a matter of hours. Soon after, President Bush launched a full scale war against Al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Although we have had many successes, the war in Afghanistan has cost us an additional 2,000 of our bravest service men and women.

By the leadership of President Bush; the perseverance of President Obama; and the incredible work of our military forces, we can now declare that Osama bin Laden is dead!

Although Al-Qaeda is still at large and will stop at nothing to deteriorate the foundations of democracy and the values we hold so dearly, it is a great victory and re-assures our military, our citizens, and the world that we can and will prevail.

Tonight should not be a night of partisan politics. It should be a night of celebration, relief, and reflection. With more than 5,000 American lives lost as a direct result of the devastating attacks on 9/11, justice has been served!

As President Obama said in his speech tonight:

“Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are.

And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror--Justice has been done.”

My Heart Surgery

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.

Some provisions have already taken effect. Most notably, I am now able to stay under my parents’ insurance policy until I am 26 years old. However, it is not until 2014 that insurance companies will be entirely prohibited from refusing to sell coverage or renew policies because of an individual’s pre-existing condition.

I was reminded of this current discriminatory policy still in place after I underwent minor heart surgery last Friday. Although I eat very healthy and stay very active, my annual visit to my primary care physician revealed I was born with something called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

According to the American Heart Association , “WPW” is a heart condition in which there is an extra electrical pathway in the heart, resulting in episodes of rapid heart rate and, ultimately, can lead to cardiac arrest. Where a normal heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute, it was not uncommon for mine to escalate to 250 beats per minute or greater.

On Friday, I underwent a surgical procedure known as a catheter ablation, which involves inserting a tube (catheter) into an artery through a small cut near the groin up to the heart area. When the tip reaches the heart, the small area that is causing the fast heart rate is destroyed using a special type of energy called radiofrequency. Although there were a few complications, I did not need open heart surgery which is a true blessing!

Soon after my surgery, however, we received a “friendly” call from our health insurance provider stating that I now have a pre-existing condition (here we go again). This means that, aside from our inability to change insurance companies, we cannot even change insurance plans WITHIN the same company. Luckily, we did not mention that I am also a cancer survivor; otherwise they would have dropped our coverage soon after dropping our call!

With the 2012 presidential election unfolding, Republican leaders are reigniting the debate over healthcare reform, threatening to undo whatever progress we have made thus far. But if there is one thing that I have learned through my experience with cancer and my heart condition, it is this:

We can debate politics. We can debate immigration, energy, the economy, and even war. But what we cannot, and should not, debate over is people’s lives.

My family and I have suffered enough! Yet, instead of focusing on my recovery, we are only able to focus (and worry) about the exorbitant, and continually rising, costs of healthcare because I, once again, have another pre-existing condition.

Although we are fortunate enough to be able to pay our medical bills, how long will this last? What will happen if doctors find yet another thing wrong with me? And what of the millions in this country who are not as lucky, financially or medically, as I am? What will become of them?

So here’s to hoping that the Affordable Care Act isn’t repealed and is allowed to run its full course.

But until then, we better hope no one gets sick.

Got Leadership?

The Republican leadership is holding the government hostage. With control over the House, it is the Speaker and his party’s responsibility to propose and implement a budget that will keep the government functioning, while keeping our economy on track. Yet with the recent talks of a government shutdown, leadership in Congress has proven weak.

The current spending bill expires at the end of tomorrow. According to the Labor Department, if the government shuts down, the IRS will stop processing paper tax returns; the Small Business Administration will stop making loans; federal home loan guarantees will be put on hold; and over 800,000 government employees will be put on furlough. That means almost a million Americans won’t get a paycheck!

Some of the government's biggest jobs, like defense and medical research, would also take a hit. The Department of Defense says that U.S. troops would be paid through April 8, but after that, paychecks to members of the military, including those in war zones, would stop. The National Institutes of Health will stop accepting new patients, and put clinical trials on hold. The Environmental Protection Agency would stop reviewing environmental impact statements, which will slow crucial energy related projects. E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security program that helps businesses determine the eligibility of employees, would be suspended, which could lead to hiring delays.

These are real impacts that will affect real people. We cannot afford a government shutdown.

Leaders on the right are blaming President Obama and the Democrats for not taking action sooner and, instead, focusing their efforts on “wasteful spending practices.” But when Democrats agreed to cut $33 billion from current spending levels, Republicans wanted more.

Yes we need to keep our budget in control, but at what cost? Even in these touch budget times, we must not take actions that will hurt our economy and halt whatever progress we have made.

"Don't believe that somehow the argument is about whether we should cut spending or not," Obama said. “Instead, the question is what to cut. We must target waste and unneeded programs while continuing to spend on innovation, education and rebuilding America's roads, bridges and other infrastructure.”

According to Republicans, focusing on clean energy issues, including wind and solar power, electric cars and energy efficient buildings; or educating our children by investing in education and innovation is “wasteful”. Yet these are essential factors that keep America prospering.

Last week, a report by the U.S. Labor Department says the economy is on the right track:

“Today’s employment report shows that private sector payrolls increased by 230,000 in March, marking 13 consecutive months of private employment growth. Private sector employers added 1.8 million jobs over that period, including more than half a million jobs in the last three months. The unemployment rate fell for the fourth straight month to 8.8 percent. The full percentage point drop in the unemployment rate over the past four months is the largest such decline since 1984.” This proves, most importantly, that the continued decrease in the unemployment rate is due to an increase in employment, rather than people leaving the labor force.

President Obama and his administration, whether through saving the U.S. auto-industry; holding Wall Street firms accountable for their actions; creating more college graduates with student loan reform; extending unemployment benefits for millions who lost their jobs with no fault of their own; ensuring tax cuts for 98% of working families; providing various incentives for small businesses who hire domestically; increasing investments in cleaner and more sustainable energy; or strengthening our infrastructure, is showing true leadership.

However, it is essential that we continue adding on to the progress we have made, thus far. This means that we should stop focusing on the political jargon used by many in Congress, and start focusing more on concrete actions.

Republicans now have control of the House. But where is the leadership?

Relay for Life: 2011

My name is Ashwani Jain, and this is my fourth year in a row attending and speaking here at Relay. If you do the math, that makes me a senior, and by contractual obligation, I have to say, “Go Terps!”

I’ve been through a lot in my life; hopefully more than most people have had to or ever will. When I was 13 years old, I was diagnosed and treated for cancer. I went to the best doctors in the world and got the best treatment available. A lot of that is thanks to the wonderful work the American Cancer Society does to fund and conduct research that helps us better understand, prevent, and cure cancer.

Now, I’m not going to sugar coat it. Cancer sucked. We all know what cancer is, and what it does. And chances are that we all probably know someone who has dealt with it. But unless you actually have lived with it, there’s just no way to truly grasp how life-changing it is. Not only did my cancer affect me, but it affected my entire family. I still remember seeing my parents cry for the first time. I felt like I was on an episode of Oprah, but no one got a car or a free trip to Australia.

Of course, I was one of the lucky ones. Every year, millions are not able to win their fight against cancer. Tonight, we take this take to honor their memories, and celebrate their lives.

But even though I’ve been cancer free for 8 years, I still have several side effects from the treatment, many of which are incurable. All these prevent me from doing certain things that most 21 year olds should be able to do. Sometimes that makes me feel bad. I begin to ask, why did this have to happen to me? Even years after my treatment, my body is still feeling the pain. But why? I eat very healthy, stay very active, treat others with respect, listen to my parents, and I still can’t live a normal life.

Then I realize that we don’t always have control over the hand that we’re dealt. But what we do have control over is how we play those cards. So I keep a very positive mindset. Instead of comparing myself to others, and seeing what I don’t have, I look at what I do have. The mere fact that I am standing here today in front of all you is a true blessing. The fact that I have air in my lungs and am healthy is enough reason to be happy. Things could have been much worse. But they’re not.

You don’t need to have lived through what I have to understand this appreciation for life. As my good friend Albert Einstein, or Al as I called him, once said, there are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; or you can live as if everything is a miracle. This is why events like Relay are so important. Because they help people realize the beauty of life. If it wasn’t for the amount of money and awareness the American Cancer Society raises for cancer research, I would not be alive today.

So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your effort in making sure millions, like myself, are able to celebrate a birthday every single year. You guys are my heroes.

So, please, the next time you hop up out of bed, turn your swag on, look in the mirror and say wassup, do 3 things. 1) give thanks for waking up, because there are millions who may not be given that luxury; 2) show appreciation for the people in your life, as many are left to deal with their problems alone; 3) laugh, because without it, we forget why life is fun. Now as I leave, I want to quote something from one of the most profound, intellectual, and influential people of our time. Master Shi-fo from Kung fo Panda said, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.”

Thanks!

An International Response

Less than one hour ago, President Obama updated the American people of the current situation in Libya. One key piece of information to take away from his message is that our response to the crisis in Libya comes as part of an international effort to prevent the prospect of “violence on horrific proportions” and ensure that Moammar Gadhafi is held accountable for his brutal actions.

Since the start of this conflict, as was the similar case for the recent Egyptian uprising, Obama has repeatedly emphasized that it is the responsibility of the Libyan people to take charge of their government. Unlike Egypt, however, the Libyans are being brutally and violently suppressed in their quest for democracy.

By joining an international coalition, alongside nations like the UK, France, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. is simply helping to enforce the United Nation’s Security Council’s resolution to free the Libyan people.

As Obama said in his speech tonight, “American leadership is not simply a matter of going it alone and bearing all of the burden ourselves. Real leadership creates the conditions and coalitions for others to step up as well; to work with allies and partners so that they bear their share of the burden and pay their share of the costs; and to see that the principles of justice and human dignity are upheld by all.” This is the kind of leadership we have shown in Libya.

However, we must not equate this situation with our response in Iraq. Instead, Obama is committed to having the U.S. play a limited, but supporting, role in Libya. We are fulfilling our responsibility to our allies, acting WITH the international community, and taking advantage of the fact that we can prevent mass genocide and help a nation’s oppressed people WIHTOUT deploying ground troops.

Soon, with NATO taking command of the operation, the U.S. would have fulfilled our pledge to assist the Libyan people while still serving America’s best interest. As the president emphasized:

“America has an important strategic interest in preventing Gadhafi from overrunning those who oppose him. A massacre would have driven thousands of additional refugees across Libya's borders, putting enormous strains on the peaceful — yet fragile — transitions in Egypt and Tunisia. The democratic impulses that are dawning across the region would be eclipsed by the darkest form of dictatorship, as repressive leaders concluded that violence is the best strategy to cling to power. [Also] The writ of the UN Security Council would have been shown to be little more than empty words, crippling its future credibility to uphold global peace and security.”

Inaction would have greater costs for the U.S. and the world community by putting a heavy, and most likely deadly, toll on the men, women, and children of Libya.