kRiStA gRoTe

NATIONAL

Candidates on the Bible

SUMMARY
At the Youtube debates, Republican candidates were asked if they believed in the Bible. Giuliani’s response was, “yes, he believes it’s the word of God, but does not believe that everything is literally true; and some parts of the Bible are interpretive and allegorical.”
Romney’s response was, “He believes the Bible is the word of God and he tries to live by it and even though he doesn’t always do things right, he tries to use it as a guide.” Huckabee’s response was, “He absolutely believes it’s the word of God, and even though he doesn’t fully comprehend it, he thinks he is not supposed to because nobody is going to ever fully understand God.”

OPINION
Huckabee is my new favorite candidate. The way he answered this question was amazing. He was the only one of the candidates that responded who fully believed what he was saying. Giuliani and Romney’s answers were a little too shaky, they didn’t give there answers with confidence. It was like they were more concerned about were they stood at the poles instead of standing up for their faith.

INTERNATIONAL

Musharraf steps down

SUMMARY
After sixty years Pakistani President steps down as the nation’s military leader the day before taking oath as the civilian president. He is sad that he is stepping down because he has spent so many years of his life taking care of this army. He thinks the army is important for development and progress. Although h he is stepping down, he feels this is the best time to step down because the army is now stronger than ever and has a surplus of weapons. Even though he is shedding his uniform his mind and heart will always be with the army.


OPINION
I don’t really know much about Musharraf’s history, but from his stepping down speech he seems like a powerful man with good intentions for his country. His goal is to secure safety and a stable army and now that he has accomplished both of these, now he can step down. It’s great when a person doesn’t just forget their job when they are needed but to have dedication till your goals are accomplished to take another job.


NATIONAL

Gun Control

SUMMARY
At the Youtube debate Giuliani was asked he thinks there should be gun control when it is stated in the constitution that people should have the right bear arms. His response entailed that he thinks gun control is necessary in society today in order to lower crime rates and make people feel safer. He mentions that not everyone will have to examination before purchasing a gun, but those who do have a bad background and have mental problems will be required to do so. He agrees that people have the right to bear arms, but also states that the government has the right to change the laws if necessary, which in New York it was.


OPINION
I agree with the mayor on this point. I think that when the amendment was made that allowed people to bare arms our country was in a time of war and situations where different back then. For example the gun technology was not nearly as advanced during that time and it was not as common for people to be using them to commit frivolous crimes. I think it was wrong of the audience to boo at Giuliani because that is rude and in a debate everyone states their opinion and no one should be ashamed for what they believe in just because they are afraid of getting booed.

INTERNATIONAL

Peace conference

SUMMARY
Iranian President Ahamdinejad said after a peace conference, which the United States thought was successful, did not achieve anything at all, because he believes that Pakistan will collapse if they seem vulnerable and try to achieve peace because he said that Pakistan is a country that was created on aggression, lying, oppression, and crime.
Arab countries are worried that if Iran rises they will want a nuclear bomb. Syria is also in alliance with Pakistan, and they think that going to the conference was a mistake because Syria only does what is in the countries best interest and not in the interest of achieving peace.

OPINION
Why is it so hard to achieve peace! Who cares about who is the strongest or has the most weapons or the most powerful bomb. If peace is achieved then all of this can go under the doormat and be forgotten. It seems like this type of conflict has gone so far that there is no way to stop it because each side is so proud of what the have accomplished. The only way to achieve world peace is by starting over equal.