Oh Billy.

Bill is yet again putting Hillary’s campaign into a deeper hole. While in Boonville, Indiana he took the stand to discuss his wives road to the White House, but not in a way that would help her. He brought up bad old news, like Bosnia, that even she didn’t want to hear, and when he realized what he did he quickly went back to her and tried to cover them up with more inaccuracies. The funniest part of this story was when he said his wife shouldn’t handle things in the middle of the night because she was old and forgetful.

“When they’re 60,” he said of reporters who, he believes, have overdramatized the episode, “they’ll forget something when they’re tired at 11 o’clock at night, too.”

Instead of saying “My husband was just rude and I apologize for that,” she says it was her fault and she would handle it. All of this spurred with only a photograph when she was First Lady. She went over to Bosnia and said “I went there under sniper fire,” when in a picture there seems to be no proof of sniper fire. Did she use it too make herself stronger and like she can go anywhere and help anyone especially with fire raining down on her? Some thing it might have helped her foreign policy credentials..At the time. Not now though, since everyone’s getting on her back about it.

Barack didn’t attack her however, about Bosnia, instead said he would leave it up to the Clinton’s. I think Bill should let his wife run her own campaign and only be brought in when necessary. Sometimes I question if Bill is trying to change rules and run another term! It’s either Chelsea or Bill I see on the TV. In my opinion, he’s hurting her chances. She should run for herself.

And for his part, Mr. Clinton, asked if he regretted his earlier comments, said, “I regret that there appears to be a double-standard about misstatements.”

Or does she need Bill?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/us/politics/12clinton.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

Beating in Lakeland.

I know this isn’t politics, but I like to write about things that have caught my attention and should be brought to others, something impacting. So I’m going to twist this blog around just for this post and inform all of you about the 8 teenagers ages 14-18 who kidnapped and beat a defenseless 16 year old in Lakeland, Florida. Two boys stood guard so that no one could get in and help her. They just did this because they wanted a viral video on the internet. Well they got it, and they also got arrested for it.

A lot of teenagers, I know this, post videos of fights up on the internet. Ones that happened in school or over the weekend just to show that they are man enough to kick somebody else’s ass. It only shows how mean and cruel they are. I don’t care if the other person deserved it, that just isn’t something you do and especially something you post on the internet for your friends to laugh about. These kids in this video won’t be blamed most likely by huge society. What will be blamed is video games, energy drinks, and parental raising. Why do we find it so hard to believe that actual teenagers, PEOPLE for that matter, would do something like this? Why can’t we just blame the person? Let them take responsibility for their own actions and take the punishment, like they should.

Stick them in jail, do whatever..just show them that what they did was wrong and not acceptable because from the looks of it a lot of teenagers don’t know this. They think it’s cool to start a fight in the middle of lunch and video tape it just so everyone who did happen to miss it could see it. It just gets on my nerves and it really makes me wonder about our society today. I remember when there was this huge thing about girls fighting other girls just for the sake of a top hit video. When in real life it was the stupidest decision ever. I thought that stopped for a while but it seemed to get worse, the numbers of people fighting over the number of victims rose. Now it’s 8 to 1. What’s happening?

Bayh Hillary ad

While I was helping out downtown at the Marion County Democratic Party, I was shown by my father the latest ad of Senator Evan Bayh endorsing Hillary Clinton. He praises her, saying he’s known her for years and she has a “spine of steel”. The New York Times gave a new insight to this quote saying it may help her out in the industrial parts of town. I could see how they would say this but will it really affect those towns? What do you think? Though it is a very interesting statement.

This ad also brings forth the new Hoosiers For Hillary campaign. I don’t know if this will help Hillary or not, but Bayh is a strong force in Indiana people think he might be in the running for a Vice President spot, and maybe it will boost her ego a little bit. The ad itself is kind of cheesy, as are all the other campaign ads out there, Republican or Democrat. And it ends with them locking raised arms, ah the love of endorsing.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/in-new-ad-bayh-touts-clintons-spine-of-steel/

Obama Headquarters

Yesterday I took a trip downtown to the location of 2 N Meridian Street where the Obama Headquarters stand. You turn from the Circle Center and notice a huge breakage in the glass, but you also notice a Change poster and when you get in front of the building you see people standing outside taking pictures and talking about how it’s such a nice open walk through and there wasn’t that much of a crowd inside but there was enough workers.

My father introduced me to some of the head people there who told me what exactly happened about the window, that a man had thrown a barrier through it while a person was working inside the building. The man has been arrested and he said he would have done it even if it was Clinton’s headquarters. People like that just make you wonder. I also got some free stuff but the point of the matter is people were working there. I was thinking to myself even if Obama loses, these people can proudly say they supported him and actually used their power to register people and to spread the word about him. The same goes for every McCain person and Clinton person. It’s good to just be out there.

I wanted to know how I could volunteer, even though it’s just for an hour a day because I feel since I can’t vote in this election that by sitting here I’m giving up all my power to even support who I would like. Which is pretty obvious now and I know a good writer tries not to side with anyone, but things happen and I try to stay pretty unbiased. I didn’t have time to sign up there but I’ll get to it, because I would like to see what it’s like to work in an environment like that even though at that point it was slow paced.

Obama is coming to visit again April 9, and I’m hopefully going to be in attendance.

Bush in Croatia

Every time I read articles of President Bush traveling the world and greeting people in other nations it makes me question if they really wanted him there in the first place? Bush traveled to Croatia to praise them about their growth more specifically NATO. He gave a speech in St. Mark’s Square which is outside Croatian Parliament to a crowd of 6,000 people. The statement that stands out in this article however is not that he visited but the fact that he was praising their bloody war with the Serbians in the 1990’s which, even if there is not bloodshed, continues on verbally to this day. He showed obvious pro-Croatian tacts by stating

“It is only a matter of time before freedom takes root across that troubled region,” Mr. Bush said And when it does, millions will remember the people of your nation stood with them in their hour of need.”

Would he say that to Serbians? Or would he quickly reverse it and say “Oh well yes, Croatia what a bad bad country in need of tremendous help from THIS country.” I understand the President was in a tough decision here about what to say regarding this topic but he shouldn’t have even acted like he was choosing sides. Bush invited countries to a speech regarding NATO, (NATO the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization, what that just means is if one is attacked by an external party they are all mutual) is but Macedonia was blocked out by the Greeks. Mainly because the Greeks have a region named Macedonia. Of course knowing Bush we cannot forget that he would bring up the situation with the troops. Bush thanked Macedonia, Croatia, and Albania for sending over troops in Afghanistan. And also thanking Albanians and Macedonians for their further help in Iraq.

“This is an era in history that generations of Croatians have prayed for,” Mr. Bush said. “May the hopeful story of a peaceful Croatia find its way to those in the world who live as slaves, and still await a joyful spring.”

The only thing Bush didn’t do was mention the Ukraine, knowing Russia hated them and Putin thinks of them as a huge threat in expansion. Good job Bush, finally watching your words I see. Now it’s time for you to try to patch up Russia, because we all know that Putin is not one of your biggest fans. Oh how this reminds me of World War I’s Central Powers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/FOREIGN/7660784/1001

In Remembrance

I suppose every new reader is entitled to a brief biography of the person they are reading, so here it goes. My name is Tess Burns, I live in Indianapolis, a town no one considers as that politically active. Lately it’s been getting a lot of press due to Andre Carson, grandson of Julia Carson running for congress and the Democratic candidates speaking all around our state. Even before this however, Indiana was just as active as any other state even if it did it quietly, unlike our neighbors in Chicago. Other than that, I am 17 years old and hating the fact that I cannot vote in what to me seems like is the most important election since the Kennedy’s (yes, both) have ran. But I refuse to let that keep me grounded. I’m as active as it gets, I’m out campaigning for local politics and trying my hand at the presidential election, but also having fun at polling places. So besides all of that which I hope enlightens you, I am on to talk about more important things.

Firstly, the hopes and future of this blog. I started this out to try and get my opinions out there to as many people who want to read them, and I want to hear back from the people regarding everything. I want people to understand and realize that our nation’s politics, messed up or not are important. That voting is important whether your candidate loses or wins you still can say you tried. Sometimes posts will be directed towards Indiana politics and then again towards more international items. But it will always be updated when something happens. Let’s get on with the post then shall we?

Tonight, or since this is late.. last night, I was attending a speech that was in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr but also Robert Kennedy and it enlightened me on all levels. Speakers of the evening included Maxwell Kennedy, son of Robert, Ethel Kennedy his wife, Andre Carson, and many others. They talked about that tragic night on April 4, 1968 40 years ago, when King died and Kennedy, who was in Indiana was the one to announce it to all the people who awaited him on 17th and Broadway. Robert stood up on that truck bed knowing that there could be violence, knowing people had come armed and full of hatred and said his speech with nothing but sadness and courage in his voice.

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”

Then, he told them to return home and say a prayer for the King family and for the nation..and they did. No violence happened. Had Robert not been there to calm them down, Indianapolis would have been one more on the list of cities who had rioted

Questions were asked throughout the night from both the speakers and from a movie called Ripple of Hope which was in memoriam of these two wise men but the question that stood out the most was “What might have happened?” Robert was shot shortly after King, two bright lights of hope were gone just as soon as they had been able to shine. If they were to look back on our country now what do you think they would see? Racism still existing but the sense of division between races physically not there. Would they be proud though? That’s the true question. Kennedy was told not to make his speech but he did it anyway, he knew they wanted the truth especially from him being a close friend of King and a respected man. There stands a statue now on the very place that Kennedy stood always honoring both these men. We must not forget our past, and heroes like these because if we do nothing can move forward.

Not only Indiana remembered these two, it wasn’t just local but all the Presidential candidates stopped for a moment in their campaigning to honor what could have been. Barack Obama was in Fort Wayne, Hilary Clinton and John McCain were in Memphis, but it wouldn’t have mattered where they were it matters that they realized what everyone should realize and not to forget the greatness of these men, of their dreams that have now become realities.

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8117203

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8121178