Tag Archives: Government

Ivanka stirs debate over Green New Deal

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By CAMILIA MUNERA

Yahoo! published an article called “Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez Fires Back At Ivanka Trump: I ‘Actually Worked For Tips & Hourly Wages In My Life.”

The article was originally published on the HuffPost and was just recently uploaded 10 hours ago. 

Ed Mazza, the person who wrote this article, did a great job of explaining the topic clearly, concise and to the point.

As many of you may know, Ivanka Trump is President Donald Trump’s daughter and advisor. She just attacked part of the Green New Deal. 

The deal, backed by Democrats, has job and wage guarantees, something Ivanka claims that Americans don’t want. Why in the world would Americans not want this?

Ivanka Trump told Fox News host Steve Hilton in an interview that “I don’t think most Americans, in their heart, want to be given something,” she continues by saying that “I’ve spent a lot of time traveling around this country over the last four years. People want to work for what they get.”

Ivanka Trump later clarified that she does in fact support a minimum wage but not for those who are unwilling to work. Ivanka was silent on the topic of  a “living wage” though for those who are willing to work. 

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was not happy with the statement as she expresses herself on Twitter. She fired back by saying

“As a person who actually worked for tips & hourly wages in my life, instead of having to learn about it 2nd-hand, I can tell you that most people want to be paid enough to live. A living wage isn’t a gift, it’s a right. Workers are often paid far less than the value they create.” 

I, for one, am really happy and thankful that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez spoke out because when a person like Ivanka Trump, someone in a high position says such a thing it’s truly harmful to our citizens.

Light should be shed on this topic because of the recent government shut-down, many government workers weren’t even being paid. A plan such as the Green New Deal would help prevent this in the future. 

Mazza also did a great job of providing pictures of the tweets Rep. Ocasio Cortez wrote and provided a video explaining the topic more in detail. 

Ocasio-Cortez, Ivanka swap criticism

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By KARLI FEINSTEIN

CNN released a story on Wednesday morning regarding a feud between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senior White House advisor Ivanka Trump. The dispute came to be after Ocasio-Cortez fired at First Daughter Trump on twitter for a comment she had made about the Green New Deal.

In an interview with Ivanka Trump on Monday, Fox News asked her about Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal on the Green New Deal and her thoughts on people supporting the deal due to its occupational guarantee. 

Trump’s response was “I don’t think most Americans in their heart want to be given something. People want to work for what they get, so I think this idea of a guaranteed minimum is not something most people want. They want the ability to be able to secure a job. They want the ability to live in a country where there’s the potential for upward mobility.”

Trump’s comment on the issue immediately started trending all across social media platforms even including some reviews from late night talk show host’s like Trevor Noah.

On Tuesday morning, after the interview was aired, Ocasio-Cortez commented on Trump’s response through Twitter, “As a person who actually worked for tips & hourly wages in my life, instead of having to learn about it 2nd-hand, I can tell you that most people want to be paid enough to live.”

Ocasio-Cortez and other congressional Democrats feel very passionate about the proposal. The Green New Deal was made to destroy the greenhouse gas population in the U.S. and to fix the problem Americans have with living off low minimum wage.

Ocasio-Cortez also tweeted, “A living wage isn’t a gift, it’s a right. Workers are often paid far less than the value they create.”

According to CNN, the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised from $7.25 since 2009. I personally think this is a huge issue the government chooses to turn a blind eye to. I’ve been in the position of working at a place that pays minimum wage and I can’t imagine having to use that money as serious source of income. I applaud Ocasio-Cortez for proposing this deal and I hope it ends up getting passed in the end.

Regardless of what Trump says, the American people know the right thing and will continue to stand behind this deal until its proven successful.

Separations still common at border

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By CAMILA MUNERA

In an article posted on CNN by Priscilla Alvarez on Feb. 22 reads the headline, “At least 245 children separated from families since Trump admin said it would stop doing so.” I am very happy CNN decided to post the article because I feel like many people have stopped talking about this topic and it’s vital that people know. This is a painful immigration issue that needs to be fixed. I understand that immigration laws should be enforced, but not in such a harsh way.

Children should never be separated from their parents unless that parent is causing them harm. Alvarez did a very good job at getting to the point quickly and not making the article way too long. She provided a helpful video and links to anyone wishing to receive more information about the matter. 

It mentions how an immigration lawyer stated that “family separation never ended.” Sources have found that between late June 2018 and early February of this year, the administration has identified over 245 children that have been separated from their families. Four children are still under additional review.

The court will hold a hearing this Thursday upholding the concern of the separation of families. 

Administration has uncovered even more information regarding children being separated from their families. In a Health and Human Services Inspector general report it reveals that thousands of more children have been separated than previously reported. Thus indicating the number reported was false. 

The government’s response is soon to come this Thursday at the hearing. 

Trump visits Venezuelan exiles at FIU

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By SHANIKA ISAACS

On Monday, President Donald Trump visited Florida International University to talk to one of the largest Venezuelan communities in the state at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Many supporters rallied together as they chanted “USA! USA!” and waved “Make America Great Again” flags.

In his speech, the president expressed his support and recognition for Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the standing president of the country. He encouraged the Venezuelan military that were loyal to President Nicolas Maduro to back down. In doing a peaceful switch of loyalty to Guaidó’s leadership, Trump ordained that there would be no repercussions whatsoever.

The Trump administration, along with 50 other nations, have declared Guaidó as the rightful leader of Venezuela. However, many supporters of the Maduro’s regime out-rightly disagreed with the American’s involvement as Maduro described Trump’s speech to be ‘Nazi-styled’.  

According to CBS Miami, “A tired rhetoric questioning our right as a free country to adopt the ideas of socialism which is humane and Christian. It was a Nazi-style speech,” said Maduro as he addressed his people.

Maduro still opposed to accept humanitarian assistance from America as the military assisted him in closing off all boarder access to the country. No one in and no one out.

Maduro also used his broadcasting platform to share to his fellow Venezuelans that they would instead be receiving humanitarian assistance from their Russian supporters. According to the Miami Herald, the Russians look to invest $5 billion on boosting Venezuela’s oil production and an additional $1 million in mining principally for gold.

With Russian bomber jets touching down in Venezuela and President Trump clamping down for a change of government, it was an irony of how the U.S. got in this position. What are some of your thoughts on how this would follow through? Do you think Russia purposely helped Venezuela just because America stood for Guaidó?

Crisis in Venezuela deepens

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By SHANIKA ISAACS

As Venezuelans struggled to meet their daily needs, President Nicolas Maduro continued to block passage for humanitarian efforts of supplying food to the public. For the government not to take the responsibility of assisting his suffering people, this in-turn spoke depth into the type of president he represented.

With the country facing the backlash of a heavily depreciated dollar, the cost for basic living skyrocketed, making it very hard for people to get find or get food. Jobs in the country depreciated to the point of no existence which made it very hard for anyone to make a living.

Thus, the crime rate was recorded as the highest in the Western Hemisphere, as new born babies faced a higher chance in being malnourished. Health care and medicine became scares as elders suffer the most. Imagine living in a country that did not provide the necessity of filling a prescription, while in America pharmacists cater to their patients as a norm.

The UN estimated that there will be more than 5.3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants by the end of 2019. Around three million people were said to be displaced and found in nearby countries like Colombia and some as far as Spain.

Why would President Maduro allow the country to get to such a state? As a result, why does he not allow Juan Guaido to take over? Is this a matter of power or humility?

Special needs wait-list to be dropped

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By KARLI FEINSTEIN

On Monday morning, at Pace Brantley School of Special Education in Longwood Fla., Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement to eliminate the 2,000-student wait-list for The Gardiner special needs program.

Eliminating the wait-list will make it easier for kids to receive the help they need. The Gardiner Scholarship is set to begin in the 2019/20 school year and will be fully funded, according to DeSantis. 

“As we’ve met with people and talked about these very valuable scholarships, the fact of the matter is we have close to two thousand families who are on the waiting list,” DeSantis said.  “I have allocated enough funds to get rid of the wait list for Gardiner Scholarships entirely.”

The Gardiner Scholarship is used to provide students with disabilities funding that can be used for specialized services such as speech or occupational therapy, tuition for private school, contribution to college, instructional materials and more.

There are about 12,000 students who participate in the program. Qualifying conditions include Down Syndrome, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism. The Scholarship currently has around $124 million dollars to spend. DeSantis wants to allocate another $18.7 million to get rid of the waitlist. 

Brittany Wilson, a mother of two special needs kids currently on the wait-list states, “Just having this scholarship just opens our world, it just allows me to have the confidence and the hope that I can do what’s best for them, whether it’s at home or whether it’s at a private school.”  

DeSantis is doing an amazing thing in my opinion. Its already hard enough for special needs kids to live a normal life. Medical expense already cost so much leaving parents with barely enough money to send their kids to a good school. I believe eliminating the waitlist for this scholarship program will make it so much easier for parents to receive the money they need and deserve for their children.

What’s happening to our government?

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By SHANIKA ISAACS

According to an article written by Josh Haufner for USA Today, the partial government shut down became the longest in history both breaking and setting a 34-day record. Anticipation for the Republicans made itself comfortable in the White House as doubt and fear started to trickle in.

Even though the government is up and running again President Donald Trump promises for a next partial shut down if the Democratic Party does not provide ways and means of funding his $5.7 billion budget for the country’s boarder wall.

The stakes are high as many Republican supporters became aggravated with the president upon signing the government back into operation. Ann Coulter, a known Trump supporter, bashed the president by calling his efforts “whimpy” over Twitter. The president responded to such a comment at the first White House press briefing on Monday and said “I heard she’s become hostile. I must not have returned her phone call or something.”

Approximately 800,000 government workers officially resumed work on Monday. Half of that number was furloughed and the other half had to work at their necessary agencies for security reasons. Many government workers still struggle financially as they recover from the backlashes of the partial shut down even though they received their paychecks this week.

Partnership CEO Max Stier told WBUR news that working for a federal agency feels even less rewarding especially for those workers with a sense of mission.

He continued “Yes, it had real financial implications, but even more than that, it disrupted the core value proposition of the job, which is to be able to make a difference, to work for a purpose.”

Comments like these permits one to sit down and truly consider the odds as we look into both scenarios. Was the partial government shut down really for a positive cause or did we allow it to move us 10 steps backward? Or are we to be angry like Coulter and blame the president’s efforts for failing us? Exactly what are we to be thinking when considering all circumstances?

USA Today reviews access to president

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By ANDRES ARENAS GRAYEB

The Trump empire has far from fallen off since Donald J. Trump took office and some of its most profitable locations have been the president’s private golf clubs. President Trump has visited the clubs in Bedminster, N.J., and Palm Beach, Fla., among others, several times since becoming president.

Apart from being a getaway for the president, his clubs raked in $600 million in 2015 and 2016. And the upper class’s interest in the clubs has only increased in recent times.

According to USA Today, 71 of the members in his private clubs are executives from companies that hold federal contracts, lobbyists and trade group officials. Of the 71, two-thirds of them have played on one of the days that the president was visiting. This membership, which grants them open access to the president through a service that enriches him, is perfectly legal.

Despite being legal, however, it does bring up ethical concerns, primarily in regard to the possibilities for bribery and unfair access, since most people cannot afford the $100,000 initiation fees that many of the club members can. Another such case is that of Jay Vroom, CEO of a pesticide trade group that convinced the government not to ban the insecticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked with neurological development delays in children. Vroom admitted to seeing the president once since he took office.

USA Today did a thorough and detailed story on Trump. In a section at the end of the article entitled “How we reported this story,” editors explained how reporters tracked down and interviewed as many members of Trumps clubs they could find, making use of a public golfing website where players keep track of their scores, among other sources such as social media posts and news stories. They also interviewed both sides of the story, for the sake of being objective.

From Walter Shaub, resigned director of the Office of Government Ethics, who called the situation “new territory” and expressed concern for the easy access, to Jay Vroom, who claimed to have not spoken to the president about his company’s interests at all. Overall, USA Today excelled at covering every angle of the story in great detail while remaining impartial to either side.

Your privacy or your security?

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By JEAN-PAUL AGUIRRE

If you have been keeping up with the news lately, you might have heard about the dispute between Apple and the federal government.

In short, the federal government is requesting Apple’s assistance in unlocking the iPhone of a San Bernardino attacker for information vital to its investigation. The reason the government requires Apple’s assistance is because the phone has a lock out function that will prohibit anyone from opening the phone after 10 failed attempts. In order to attain the information, the government is asking Apple to create a “master code” that will allow them to override the lock out function of any phone they choose.

Apple sees this as a massive privacy rights violation for their customers and has opted to deny the government’s request.

The media runs this story more and more as new information comes out, or when a public figure releases their statement about the situation and what they think either side should do.

Additionally, the recent vacancy in the U.S. Supreme Court, after Justice Scalia’s death, could be contributing to the story’s frequent airing.

There may be a good chance of this case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court if the two cannot reach a settlement. With the Court at a stalemate in regards to party affiliation, as well as the obstruction in the appointment of another justice, there is no telling which side would prevail if it reaches that point.

This situation has more significance than some people realize. This case could further protect the individual’s privacy, or it can provide the government with another tool for collecting intelligence and improving national security.

This story is not about a dispute between two prominent figures, but rather the implications of their dispute and the drastic repercussions that will follow. The media are trying to distinguish its gravity, as opposed to other stories. For that reason, the story is being covered appropriately.