Time to Push Back!

Many Americans planning holiday travel have expressed concern -- even outrage -- over the Transportation Security Administration's use of full-body scanning and enhanced pat-downs. This is the first time since 9/11 that Americans are pushing back and showing outrage over their limited liberty rights that seem to shrink with every passing day! There are 400 full-body scanning machines at 69 airports nationwide, according to the TSA. The average medal detector, that every person boarding the plane will have to go through, has been set to extremely sensitive. The medal detector goes off when a person is wearing only a wedding ring. Even the slightest amount of medal can set it off.

According to CNN News about 24 million air travelers are expected to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday period, according to the Air Transport Association of America, an airline trade group. The group expects daily passenger volumes to range from 1.3 million to 2.5 million fliers. Certainly, a large number of those will be asked to step into one of the full-body scanning machines. The real danger of full-body scanning machines is that some of them capture a person’s image on one side of the screen and the scanned image right next to it. It is no secret to anyone that some of these images have already ended up on the Internet. I want to know where is my guarantee that I will not be one of the people whose image is now online for the world to see? What rights do I still have left when I chose to fly to see my family for the holidays?

Passengers in either the medal detector or full-body scan lines may be selected for additional screening, including the enhanced pat-down procedure that allows security officers of the same sex to touch sensitive areas of a passenger's body. Does the fact that you are being groped all over by someone of the same sex as you make you feel any warmer inside? Because it still leaves me feeling as violated as if it were a person of the opposite sex. Children over 12 are also subject to these “pat-downs.” How comfortable would a mother feel while her child is being touched right in front of her eyes?

No more thing to take into consideration before flying these days: how safe are the full-body scanning machines? The body-scanning machines use two separate means of creating images of passengers -- backscatter X-ray technology and millimeter-wave technology. About 190 backscatter machines have been installed in airports; the remainder are millimeter-wave machines. If someone could really explain to me the risks to my health from these machines, I would feel a lot better. But if you do chose to fly, make sure to check out the website to see which airports now have full-body scanning machines.

Medal of Honor goes to first living recipient from Afghanistan war

This is a true National Hero! He risked his own life in order to save several of his fellow soldiers!

A 25-year-old Army staff sergeant from Iowa on Tuesday became the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since three service members from the Vietnam War were honored in 1976. President Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest medal of valor to Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta -- the kind of soldier who leaves you "just absolutely convinced this is what America's all about," Obama said at the White House award ceremony. "It just makes you proud."

Giunta was a specialist serving with the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when his unit was attacked on the night of October 25, 2007. According to Defense Department documents, Giunta and his fellow soldiers were walking back to base along the top of a mountain ridge when the enemy attacked from their front and their left. Taliban fighters barraged the Americans with AK-47s, rocket propelled grenades and Soviet-era large machine guns.

Giunta saw several of his fellow soldiers go down. He ran forward, throwing grenades and returning enemy fire, to help one soldier who had been shot but was still fighting, the documents say. Then he noticed one of the wounded soldiers was missing. Searching for his wounded friend Sgt. Josh Brennan, Giunta ran over a hill where moments before Taliban fighters had been shooting at him. Now he was alone, out of sight of his fellow soldiers, in an area that the Taliban had controlled just moments before. Giunta saw two Taliban fighters dragging Brennan away. He ran after them, killing one and wounding the other, who ran off. Giunta instantly started providing first aid to Brennan, who had been shot at least six times, the documents say. Eventually a medic arrived and a helicopter was called in to take Brennan to a hospital, but he later died of his wounds.

This is what being a soldier is all about: stepping up and being a leader when the situation calls for it. It is nice to read some good clean news as opposed to normal dirty and drama filled news that we hear every day. Although this was a bitter sweet celebration for Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, it is still a beautiful sight. Although Giunta lost a close friend and a fellow soldier that night, he did everything in his power to try to save his life.

Oil Spill? What Oil Spill?

Gulf Oil Has Entered The Food Web, Scientists Say

Here is something we have been hearing about every single day on the news about this summer, but all has been forgotten since then. The BP oil spill! The oil did not magically disappear after the huge spill, but news reporters got tired of talking about it and people’s attention drifted elsewhere. The government has estimated 600,000 to 1.2 million gallons were leaking per day into the ocean... Where is it all now?

Well the scientists have now quietly announced that the oil has entered the food web. Anyone surprised? Scientists say they have for the first time tracked how certain nontoxic elements of oil from the BP spill quickly became dinner for plankton, entering the food web in the Gulf of Mexico. The study didn't specifically track the toxic components of the oil that has people worried. It focused on the way the basic element carbon moved through the beginnings of the all-important food web.

Will no one tell us the truth about the sea food that we consume? All the scientists and the government try to convince us that it is safe to swim in the Gulf of Mexico and the food is completely safe... Well, I urge you to take a look at the pictures and tell me how safe you truly think this looks!

We have destroyed the habitat of many animals and refuse to take the responsibility for it.

Waiting for Superman

This movie is exactly about the same thing that I blogged earlier this week! The statistic are horrifying!

Barack Obama uses pocket veto

This is the second time during President Obama's term that he used pocket veto. President Barack Obama will not sign a bill that consumer advocates say would allow banks to more easily send homes into foreclosure, the White House announced Thursday, citing the legislation’s “unintended consequences.” This bill was intended to make it easier for business owners to conduct business across state lines by making out-of-state notarizations more easily recognized. President Obama was worried that this bill will make it easier to foreclose on a homeowners. The White House noted that the bill was designed to ease restrictions on interstate commerce. "While we share this goal, we believe it is necessary to have further deliberations about the intended and unintended impact of this bill on consumer protections, including those for mortgages, before this bill can be finalized." I may not be President Obama’s biggest fan, but I applaud him for this veto!

Read this article from Politico

Huffingtonpost article

High court struggles with funeral protest case

Snyder v. Phelps is an extremely controversial Supreme Court case. It carries a loaded a message and a dangerous verdict. People are worried that the verdict that comes from this case could limit freedom of speech. Although it worries me also how far this case can be taken, I would much rather suffer some consequences but have these protesters stopped. It is so disrespectful to protest at a soldier's funeral especially when your message is that he deserved to die!


After debates between the justices and both lawyers about content and context, Summers explained why he believes the Phelpses' speech falls out of the bounds of First Amendment protection.


"The private, targeted nature of the speech in our judgment is what makes it unprotected," he said in response to a question from Justice Stephen Breyer. I am so glad someone is finally making sense! The Westboro Baptist Church should be able to protest about whatever they want, but there should be a proper time and place for it.

Funeral protesters make their case in and outside Supreme Court

Dumb and Dumberer

As if we have not heard enough about the education crisis in the country, it makes the headlines again! Here we go again with another $2.3 million "Race to the Top!" We keep dumping more and more money into the education fund without ever wondering that perhaps it is not a financial issue. America continuously keeps scoring low on the education chart throughout the world, yet we think the more money we dedicate towards the issue the more likely it is to get solved.


Let's take a sobering approach towards education: is it really a matter of how big the school's budget is or maybe it is the importance of value your family focuses on education? Do parents hold no responsibility in their child's education? If the children refuse to learn and do their homework, what more can a teacher do? Someone needs to stand up and point the finger back at the parents now.
Take a look at the new budget for some districts:
Southern Tier school districts to get $2.3M
RCPS to get $2.3M from Race to the Top

Does this seem like a good way to solve this ongoing problem?