Lancaster Snow Piles

Even though the "Snovember" Storm was over a month ago, residents in Lancaster still have huge piles of snow blocking the sidewalk. The Village of Lancaster did cut the citizens a break during and shortly after the storm and dropped the law saying you must clear your sidewalk for that period of time. However, a month after the snow storm residents are still having trouble removing the snow piles which have now turned more into ice. These piles are very dangerous for people because they will have to walk in the street instead of on the sidewalk. A concerned resident called WGRZ news station and had one of their reporters investigate the story. The reporter went to a village official who said it is the landowner's responsibility to clear the sidewalk. He then went on to say that the village will help anyone who contacts them. And the village did send out workers to clear some of the sidewalks the reporter did come across. I'm glad that the Village is doing something about it but they should have done something about it before a citizen had to reach out to a news station.

Cat Killer

Last week, a man was walker his German Shepard in Batavia and ended up killing a cat. He came across the cat, threw it in the air and stomped on it a few times until the cat was dead. By the time the police arrived, the man and his dog were gone. There is now a $500 award out for whoever finds the man. 

I think it's horrible that someone would just kill a cat for walking in front of him. There was no reason to hurt the animal, he could've just kept walking. I hate when people hurt animals like this. There is just no place in my mind where I can figure out why people would do this sort of thing. It is believable that the man has something wrong for just killing an innocent animal and hopefully they find him and give him the help he needs. If anyone with information is asked to Batavia Police at 585-345-6350.

The "Drip Plan"

Last year if you lived in Niagara Falls, you might have had your pipes freeze and not have had water for weeks at a time. Well the city of Niagara Falls is saying to leave your faucet running all winter. They want you to turn a sink in your house on, preferably the lowest one such as in the basement, and turn the water on until the water coming out is an eighth of an inch in diameter, or the size of a pencil lead. The city notified the people that had this problem last year with a letter stating these instructions. Now many citizens have problems with this. They feel like the city is not doing anything about it and just giving them this "band-aid" solution. Also in the letter, it states that if you have more than an eighth of an inch of water coming out, you will be charged extra. This could be a problem for elderly people who might not be able to decipher an eighth of an inch. Do you think the city should be making more of an effort to try and fix this or just let this minor solution be the end of the problem. Also, should the city pay for the extra money that is being charged to the citizens that have to leave their water?

PB&J Drive

With the lack of the true Christmas Spirit I have been talking about, I want to bring you some more stories of people helping the community like the person that dropped the gold coin in the Salvation Army Kettle. There is a group of people from Lewiston, NY that have started a peanut butter and jelly drive five years ago. Their goal is to help hungry children by filling shelves of food pantries with food kids will eat and enjoy. A lot of food pantries have a lot of canned foods but its food that children will not like or eat. In five years of doing this drive, the collection of jars has grew from a few hundred to about 13,000 jars last year. They then take these jars, separate them, and take them to various pantries including the Salvation Army in Lockport, which feeds 200 families a month.  "It'll help a lot of children and a lot of people," said Robert Drinkwater, Salvation Army Director of Social Ministries. "And you don't really realize when you see people who get it how appreciative they are that it's there." This is a great group of people that continue to not only help men and women but their children too. I'm glad there is people out there that remembers to put Christ in CHRISTmas!!

If you want to donate, you can find a list of drop off locations on the Peanut Butter and Jelly Facebook Page. For more information you can call 510-7108, 735-7061 or 799-4013.

The surprise in a Salvation Army kettle...

Recently the anonymous "gold coin" donor has visited a Salvation Army kettle in Mebane, North Carolina. This random person has repeatedly dropped coins like this in Salvation Army kettles in this area for a few years. A few days after he drops the coin, he does call anonymously to make sure the coin arrived safely to the Salvation Army. The coin this year was an Australian Kangaroo $100 gold piece which is estimated to have a value of $1,200. Captain Jimmy Taylor with the Salvation Army once again thanked the donor for his generosity and how he donates in such a fun and unique way.

Following my post from yesterday, this is a great example of how people should be during the holiday season. We should always remember the people that need our help year round, but especially in this time of year that people are always giving. Try to remember what Jesus told us to do and take time to help the others around. Even if you can't afford to donate a lot of money, you can donate your time to help out at a soup kitchen or volunteer to be one of the bell ringers for the Salvation Army. Once again, remember the true reason for the season!

A Bargain-filled Christmas

The above political cartoon was recently made by Andy Marlette from Pensacola, Florida. The cartoon shows the Three Kings following the North Star way earlier than usually. Andy is trying to show that in the recent years stores have been competing to start holiday shopping earlier and earlier. From most people that I've talked to, I hear that they hate the holiday season starting before Thanksgiving. It is kind of ridiculous to start holiday shopping earlier each year. I also think people are getting carried away with these bargains from stores and forgetting about the true meaning of Christmas. I feel that in the recent years, all I hear about is the bargains that people made and not reflecting on the true meaning, which is Jesus. We should focus on helping each other, having a good time with family and friends, and especially focus on the story of how Jesus was born, which is why we even have Christmas. So take some time this Advent season and thank God for all that he's done for you and especially for Jesus and letting him come into this world.

What happened in Ferguson?

If you are like me, you don't really know the whole story as to what happened and is happening in Ferguson, Mo. So here is the story... On August 9, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson. Michael Brown and his friend were walking in the street when Darren Wilson stopped them from his car and asked them to move to the sidewalk. While doing so, officer Wilson noticed that Michael Brown fit the description from a burglary at a local drug store from earlier that evening, and in turn calling a dispatcher about the two men. There was then an altercation between the two men and officer Wilson then shot Brown multiple times and in turn killing him. Last night the grand jury decided to not indicting Wilson of any crime. The major problems here were that the grand jury was made up of 9 white men and 3 black men in a black majority neighborhood. There has also been a history of problems between the police department, made of mostly white men, and this same black majority neighborhood. I feel that this case was properly handled. The way our system is made is to have the prosecuting attorney chooses the jury. This also caused controversy because the defense attorney was not present in choosing the jury. However, I believe that justice was served best to how the system is made.

Black Thursday?

This year a numerous amount of stores will be opening on Thanksgiving. With this, do you think that stores should be allowed to do this? I believe it is wrong to open on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have already. Not to go out and try to get the best deal on a TV. I mean I love a good deal, but I'm not going to leave the family table on Thanksgiving to go get a deal. Being an avid Black Friday shopper, I love to go out at 4 in the morning, but now I feel that I would have to leave Thanksgiving evening when my family is still eating to go get the best deals. Also, they are giving more deals on different days, so is it even worth going out and shopping on Black Friday or even Black Thursday?

Nolan Burch

Nolan Burch was a student at University at West Virginia who passed away from an overdose of alcohol. He was put under pressure to do this by his fellow classmates at one of the frat houses. As a student about to enter college, I feel like the Nolan Burch situation could have been avoided. If you don't join a fraternity and just focus on your work in college, you won't be pressured into doing things that can kill you, like Nolan did. I would tell my friends not to drink or follow peer pressure. Even if you are put in a situation, you have the right to say no and leave. Don't ruin or even end your life because of some stupid mistake you could've avoided yourself. I can't imagine his parents in this situation. I have a family member who lost her son to an unfortunate mistake he made that could've been avoided. When I went to the funeral, the look on her face was devastating. I wouldn't want to wish that on any parent in the world. I believe the college should frown upon this type of activity. If I was the president of the college I would be doing anything I could to suspend these types of activities. I wouldn't want this to make my college and the students to look bad.

More "Mannys"

More and more guys are babysitting according to the following article and the Flocabulary video for this week. The following article's title is "More Boys Getting Into The Babysitting Business". The writer supports his argument by going out and interviewing a boy babysitter and also interviewing a mom that hires a "manny." This article has influenced me because I have just picked up a babysitting job for a family at my church. It's a great way to make some extra cash and not have a set schedule. If I'm unavailable for a night, they will find someone else. It's also fun watching the children because they are great kids, so I'm getting paid for having fun. Also, I'm currently going to be going to school to be a teacher, so it will give me an extra chance at learning how to work with children. It's like a dream job. The article makes me wonder how most people feel about male babysitters. The author could've taken a poll and seen if the majority of the public agree with male babysitters or if they should just stick with females. The author also could've asked some of the kids how they feel about having a male babysitter instead of a female one. It would be neat to see their perspective. Other than that, I think it's great to show that males can take up female roles.


http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/10/24/3-on-your-side-more-boys-working-as-babysitters/

Republicans seize the Senate

After all of the voting yesterday, the Republicans are now in control of the Senate. What does this mean now? Well, since our President is democrat and the Senate is all Republicans, it will be harder for Obama to get things done because of the opposition between the two parties. Also, if there is a vacancy for the Supreme Court (which is very likely with how old Ruth Bader Ginsburg is getting), it will be very hard for President Obama to choose a candidate since he has to have senate approval on all nominees. The Senate will also most likely be trying to appeal Obamacare. However, it will be difficult because the Obama won't sign anything they will put in front of him. Let's see how the next two years will go from here!

2014 Mid Term Elections

With the midterm election coming up tomorrow, I was wondering how many states are going to vote in a republican for the senate. So far the states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska,Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, Maine, and South Carolina are almost assured to vote in a Republican. The states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kentucky are likely to vote in a Republican. The states of Colorado, Alaska, Iowa, and Georgia have Republicans ahead in the poll, but not by much. Will these statistics stand? Or will the democrats somehow make a comeback in these states. Well, we'll find out tomorrow night!

The Gender Gap

Currently the gender gap is narrowing in the work force and politics. In the Republican party, the amount of women representation in Congress has grew so much since 1917, when only one female Republican was in the House of Representatives. Currently we have one hundred and two women in Congress all together. Is how this gender gap narrowing a good thing for society? Is more women being in politics going to really do something for America?

The Republican Defense

The Republicans believe strongly in a national defense. They believe that our national defense should be built up strong. The Republicans believe that the defense should be ready to defend our country against any type of attack in our home land or an attack against us abroad.

The deficit under Republicans

After looking at the deficits from the Bush administration and Obama administrations. America's debt was rising when President Bush was in office. The opposite has been happening under Obama, the debt is falling. During the current elections it is better for a Republican to show that they spend less money rather than show how much the deficit rises while Republicans are in charge.
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More on Republicans and their spending.

 

A recent question I received basically asked which political party spends more money. The following charts give you the answer to that question...

 

Between the last Republican president (President Bush) and the current Democratic president (President Obama), the Democrats have spent much more money than the Republicans.

The previous graph shows the average federal spending when Democrats and Republicans control Congress. The title of the graph gives you your answer... "federal spending is lower when Republicans control Congress."

 

The answer to my question is pretty obvious after looking at the facts, Republicans are successful in being frugal with the money they spend and cutting government waste.

 

How do Republicans like to spend their money?

Republicans try their best to cut government spending and not wasting the governments money. They believe that individuals should control their own and the government's pocket book. They also believe that the people are in charge of what the tax increases should be and if there should even be a tax increase.

Republicans on the Economy

Republicans believe that the economy has been growing through free enterprise and little regulation. Although they believe in little regulation, they believe the government should help citizens in using their talents to make money.

Republicans - Who are they?

In my Current Events class, my current task is to discover what a Republican believes in. So far, I've come across the core beliefs of Republicans. They believe that you are responsible for yourself, and the government will provide the ability of benefits for the individuals and for the individual's families. They also believe that the government should only step in if society can't stand by itself. Throughout the next week or two, I will be posting what I discover about Republicans and more details on specific things they believe in.