Ryan Evans

National:
The Republican CNN/Youtube debate was held earlier this week. All eight Republican presidential hopefuls were answering questions submitted questions via video. The videos would be shown and certain candidates would be required to respond. According to popular media outlets, Mike Huckabee and John McCain came out of the debate looking the strongest. The candidates all argued over Homeland Security and our military forces abroad, more specifically in Iraq. It seemed like a wide open debate. The nomination still seems a long way off.

Opinion:
From what I saw, the questions seemed like good questions. I noticed Mitt Romney avoided numerous questions though, more specifically ones regarding homosexuals in the military. I appreciated Huckabee quite a bit though. His background is what excites me about him. Yet, I am not certain about who I would want the nomination to go to. We will just have to see how it plays out.

International:
Palestinian and Israeli leaders met in Annapolis, Maryland on Tuesday this week to work towards a permanent peace in the region. Representatives of other nations also showed up, but the big one was Syria. Syria hardly ever shows up to these sorts of talks, but they came and showed their support for the proposed peace. The plan is to have a permanent solution by the end of 2008. The Palestinians are hoping to retain, or gain “Palestinian” lands in the region. This is the only way in which the Hamas will honor any sort of agreement between the two.

Opinion:
This seems to be a step in the right direction but I am doubtful about how effective any sort of treaty will be. Will terrorists really honor this? However, I am excited that Syria showed up to this. Apparently, this is leaving Iran and the Hamas feeling isolated as their influence is being severely weakened. If these countries can retain this peace it will be a beautiful thing. As Bush says, “freedom is beautiful!” the only way to judge this is if both sides continue to work at it.

National:
Black Friday was this past Friday. Millions of Americans hit the stores early in the morning to begin their Christmas season. The percentage of Americans shopping on this day has been steadily increasing over the past years. It has grown forty-two percent which calculates to about four-hundred thirty four dollars. It is estimated to continue increasing over the next few years. Cyber Monday is also rising in the financial market. Christmas is growing more and more profitable.

Opinion:
Merry Christmas to us all! The only true joy of Christmas nowadays is the feeling of electronic joy. This is where the majority of the profits are being made. I myself showed up at Best Buy on Friday morning. It was nuts, people were fighting and clawing and being utterly destroyed! The new necessities of the Christmas season is flashing your wallet and blowing a ton of money. Woo!