BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday this year was a mass display of America's return to shameless capitalism. Thousands of consumers battled the long lines and inclement weather in hopes of scoring great deals. Retailers, especially prominent chains, offered blanket discounts on all items, most likely trimming the profit margin, but, nonetheless, stimulating the economy and incentivizing customers. It seems as though Americans are finally becoming comfortable enough with the market to spend excessively again. Regardless, there are still those trends indicating frugality. Price-value relationships for products were under heavy scrutiny by the more savvy shoppers. This year, more than previous years, consumers opted to purchase items for themselves rather than others, assuring that they would get exactly what they need at the lowest price possible.

Health Care Law Faces Threat of Undercut From Courts

Officials are currently preparing for the possibility that a federal judge in Virginia will soon reject the health care law as being unconstitutional as the Obama administration continues to push forward with it and will, unfortunately for the White House, halt its enforcement until higher courts can rule. While administrators do remain confident that it is constitutionally possible to compel people to obtain health insurance, they do acknowledge that Judge Hudson’s premature opinions and comments could possibly presage the first ruling against the law. This is an example of evaluation because the policy of the health care law is not being implemented effectively since some are saying the law is unconstitutional while other administrators are encouraging Americans to obtain health insurance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/us/politics/27health.html?_r=1&ref=us

Kilee Imlay

US criticises Iceland over 'unsustainable' whaling

Whaling has been an issue of discussion on many international agendas. Currently, Iceland, Japan, and Norway are the only three countries in the world that commercially catch whales. On Thursday, the U.S. government warned Iceland that their whaling practices threatened the sustainability of the mammal, in particular endangered fin whales. Iceland has increased their whale harvest to two to three times the level recommended by the International Whaling Commission. The U.S. plans to enforce social and economic regulations in order to control this global issue. Since whaling is not considered illegal, the goal is to at least impose sustainable fishing practices. Icelandic authorities plan to protest against the US criticism, saying there are sufficient whales in its waters to continue increasing the quota.


-Rebecca Jania


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101125/sc_afp/icelanduswhaling

Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney are tops for GOP voters looking to 2012

Reporting from Washington . Four familiar names lead the pack in a new poll testing the very early landscape in the Republican race for president in 2012.

A new poll finds Republican favorites for the presidential race are Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is a distant fifth; Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is a dark horse.

Three questions to determine if Palin is serious about being a successful presidential candidate: 1) Does she broaden her appeal… 2) Does she become more disciplined?... 3) Does she expand her policy portfolio?... New Q-poll shows Palin performing the worst among other GOPers in a head-to-head against Obama… The president's trip to Portugal was more successful than his trip to Asia… START has become the next big Washington battle… Expect to see more White House staff movement sooner rather than later…

Post by: Ziying Yuan

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/la-pn-quinnipiac-poll-20101123,0,1130307.story

Board Floats Voucher Plan

Education reform is proving to be a hot topic as of late. Originating in a wealthy suburb of Denver, Colorado, a new, educational outlook is being considered. Policy proposals entailing the use of public funds, functioning as vouchers, to be allocated to parents in order to send their children to private and almost exclusively, faith-based institutions are up for debate in Douglas County. These proposals include provisions that would allow students to not only enroll full-time in a private school but also study privately with distinguished professors and professionals within the community. It seems this coupling of public and private resources is enabling students to receive a customized education, as opposed to merely managing them in a traditional system.

As Officials Face Charges, a City Tries to Move On

In the town of bell in California top city officials used their power to get higher salries, and low interest loans. Most of these officials have stepped down. Once official made atleast 800000 dollars a year. It says they received at least 5.5 million in benefits, and in the meantime interim officials will take their place before others are voted in. This is connected to class because it is an example of how government officials can be corrupt and how local governments deal with these types of problems.
-Matthew Abelman
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/us/politics/22bell.html?ref=us

Advertise on NYTimes.com Importing Coal, China Burns It as Others Stop

This article discusses how china has now become one of the leaders in the world in importing coal. Other countries, such as the US has limited the use on coal because in is bad for the environment. The US ships it to china via Canada. It is expected that there will be even greater markets for coal in china in the future.

-Matthew Abelman


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/world/asia/22fossil.html?_r=1&hp

Controversial Painkiller Darvon Pulled at FDA's Request

Darvon, a controversial prescription painkiller, was pulled off the market shelves on Friday at the request of federal regulators because apparently there are concerns that the drug can cause fatal heart problems. The company that makes Darvon, called Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals Inc., located in Newport, Kentucky, agreed to withdraw the medication at the request of the FDA. Also, companies making generic versions of the drug, known as propoxyphene, will also be removing their products from the market. This removal is being put into action because the FDA recently received new data that shows that the drug puts patients at risk for potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormalities. This is an example of how government is stepping in and socially regulating this product to make sure it does not threaten the public health, safety, welfare, or well-being of citizens.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111905867.html

Kilee Imlay

Air Quality in Beijing sucks

The United States embassy in Beijing independently monitor the air quality. Last Friday that number topped 500 on the index. The poor air quality forced schools to cancel outside activities. Experts also asked that anyone with respiratory diseases to stay inside. People living in surrounding areas have complained that the government's measurement system consistently underreports the severity of the problem. Experts say Beijing's frequently bad air can be attributed to a growing number of factories and villages on the outskirts of the city that are burning coal for the winter, and 1,200 new cars hit the roads each day.

Hayden Wolf

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMA1y8RfWfOIrWquO5dKS4bDAIoQ?docId=f231f85e52a444c6956e6fc91429a5f1

Obama stands by controversial air security screening methods

President Barack Obama spoke in support of the new controversial screening measures on Saturday, saying that the pat-downs and body scans are necessary to assure airline safety. Obama stood by the measures because of events such as when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with a bomb hidden in his underwear last Christmas. The tightened security has caused an uproar amongst people traveling for the holidays. "At this point, the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with our counter-terrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the Christmas Day bombing," said the President. According to a statement from the federal agency, TSA officers can use "professional discretion" to determine when an individual should be subject to further screening. The fact that individuals are becoming angry because of a policy that makes traveling safer seems foolish.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/20/obama.tsa/index.html

Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction.....awww shucky ducky now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html?_r=1&ref=technology

Middle school and high school teachers are finding that students are spending more time engaged with technological devices to supplement their learning. Researchers have found that a generation of students are effectively re-wiring their brains in a way that the brain is rewarded for how quick it can move on to new information as opposed to maintaining attention. Ironically, many schools are seeking to find innovative ways to teach students, by buying more technologically advanced media devices, usually through acquiring grants. One school received 3 milliion dollars for one school corporation. This is important from a policy proposal standpoint because funding has to be allotted to a program that is believed to actually fix a problem, which would be a learning "curve", if you will.

-Jordan Hamilton

DARE

DARE has decided to launch a new anti drug campaign with particular emphasis on meth.  Single parent Paula Minkler was interviewed after her son committed suicide during a meth binge.  She claims that people realize meth is harmful to your health, but what most people don't understand is the violence associated with meth usage.  DARE’s campaign is relevant because it can be looked at as a hortatory government tool used to encourage good behavior.  Personally I feel that advertising campaigns have little to no effect on people’s drug usage decisions.  Instead the people we choose to surround ourselves with have the largest influence on our decisions.

-Robbie Nichols

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/meth/articles/yelm-online-09040.pdf

Democrats unhappy with Obama's tactics plot change

Democratic donors are becoming more irritated by what they see as “Obama’s weakness in battling Republicans.” Many of these donors are part of the Democracy Alliance which is “an organization of wealthy Democrats that provides funding to liberal groups.” Many important Democrats plan to discuss the possibility of forming an “operation” to compete with newly made republican strategic groups. Democrats hope that these new third party organizations will help them maintain control of the White House in the next election and “remobilize” the democratic base that made Obama’s election possible. This includes African Americans, Latinos and individuals under 30. This unease comes after Democrats loss in the congressional elections.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-democrats-2012-20101119,0,957684.story