Don't Ask, Don't Tell..Don't Repeal?

"Obama has made choices identical to those that would have been made by the Bush Administration." Jon Turley, a law expert at George Washington University, stated after hearing about Obama's decision to not repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. It certainly is confusing how Obama is acting towards perhaps one of issues he most advocated for in the past. Obama pledged to end the policy, and once the opportunity came he turned it down. Many debate whether it is important or not how a person goes about accomplishing a goal, just as long as it is accomplished. I would say it is important. I would argue that yes, morals and reasoning are very important behind reasoning when it comes to reaching a goal, such as repealing this act. Yet, one must make their reasoning clear. Hopefully, Obama does come to justify himself and bring about clear reasoning rather than more confusion like he has done thus far.

Jerry Brown vs. Meg Whitman

After learning that a police group was considering endorsing Meg Whitman, one of Jerry Brown's staffords accused Whitman of being a "whore". Was this said because the news was a shock to Brown's team? It seems interesting to me because with this particular police group Whitman promised protection of their pensions, where as Brown promised little. So to say that response was appropriate is clearly wrong. That vile language should never be used in politics. While Brown apologized in the debate, Whitman answered no when asked if he had previously apologized which shows how little he cared on a personal level. As result of this slur though, Brown must fire any person on his staff who uses that derogatory language. So overall how has this incident effected the election? This incident has nothing to do with important issues that need to be addressed by future governors. If this incident has swayed many votes though, we must pay closer attention to how much of elections are based off of public perception rather than who is more fit by their actions and views..

Gerrymandering

How can gerrymandering (dividing voting districts so as to give an unfair advantage to a certain party in  elections) be justified? While i understand that this is just another way to advocate for a particular party, i believe that the manipulation used in this process is just short of fraud..to be put rather bluntly. I just feel as if this issue is often overlooked because it has become hard to hold politicians accountable for their underhanded actions..but we must. We need to stop the power grab and protect voters and the electoral process. To do so i think it would be smart to vote yes on Prop 20 so that the voter-approved Citizens Redistricting Commision, not politicians, will draw congressional districts. For example, Sacramento politicians still draw California districts so that their friends in Congress are basically guaranteed reelection. We need to pass Prop 20 to prevent this. Furthermore, it would also be wise i feel to vote no on Prop 27, because it is another blatant example of a political power grab. Overall, i think it is obviously unfair for politicians to draw their own election districts because they do so only to protect their jobs.