Still a Nation of Immigrants

Today we are still a nation that is home to many immigrants.  A sort of melting pot effect, a term that became quite popular, can be seen.  New York City is a strong example of this.  There is roughly a 37 percent foreign born population since 2010. This number is pretty constant now, but still slightly rising.  In the year 1990, just a few decades ago, there were 19.8 million immigrants and by 2012 it rose to 40.7 million immigrants.  

The words mounted on the Statue of Liberty say "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."  This was a recurring theme of the idea of America.  All people of all walks of life were welcomed with open arms, by some anyway.  




http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/opinion/blow-still-a-nation-of-immigrants.html?ref=opinion

The Federal Government: A Notable Entrepreneur

The United States government is in a way a notable entrepreneur.  The government is able to take risks and has operated in such a way since the second world war.  The federal government financially supports research, experimentation and commercialization processes.  Private businesses often invest in share buybacks rather than innovative technologies.  The United States government is then able to invest in the future.  The amount of money being spent on research has decreased significantly due to recent budget cuts.  Therefore the federal government is unable to spend as much money investing.  

The federal government sometimes goes unrecognized for the entrepreneur that it is.  Many technological advancements, including those as common as the iPhone were made possible by the government's expenditures.  Nanotechnology is becoming a breakthrough technology and will most likely be the next big thing.  The government is already showing strong interests in this field of study.  There are various fields of study and areas of interest that make up the entrepreneurship of the United States government.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/opinion/americas-underappreciated-entrepreneur-the-federal-government.html?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Aw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DSectionFront%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3Dus%26t%3Dqry962%23%2Fgovernment&_r=0

Demographics of Boston Marathon Runners and Security

It is not surprising that a large number of marathon runners come from Massachusetts.  The annual race is held in Boston.  This year marks the 118th Boston Marathon and New England states continue to represent the states with the most number of runners entered.  Utah surprisingly has one of the largest number of residents entered in today's race.  Both Colorado and Oregon send about 1.2 per capita runners.  Thousands of people from across the country and from all over the world will be entered in today's race as it marks the first Boston Marathon to be held after the events of last year's bombing. This is a time for the citizens of Boston, our nation and the entire world to come together and show that they are never going to stop running and they are Boston Strong.  This also transitions into the security measures and techniques being put in to place.  There will be almost double the amount of law enforcement officers on scene than in previous years.  They will be both uniformed and undercover.  Another unique feature will be completely live feeds all over the city.  Any threats or possible safety breeches will be taken seriously and handled promptly.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/04/21/map-how-many-runners-from-each-state-entered-mondays-boston-marathon/

Enrollments Exceed Obama’s Target for Health Care Act

Approximately eight million people have signed up for health insurance under the Afoordable Care Act.The target was almost a million less than have signed up.  The number of young adults who have signed up has also exceeded original projections.  The Affordable Care Act covers more people for less money than would have been predicted.  There is still not enough information to determine statistics such as number who paid their initial premiums.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/us/obama-says-young-adults-push-health-care-enrollment-above-targets.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0

            Obama is faced with the challenge of comforting the community and the country after a shooting in Fort Hood, Texas. It is a difficult situation because the families effected have provided service for our country and have made many sacrifices.  Currently Obama is trying to provide comfort and unity for the community after this tragedy.  He said "our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation, but also any potential aftermath.".
           In times of crisis or disaster the actions of the president are put under a microscope.  Currently Obama is not scheduled to visit Fort Hood.  After the first shooting in November of 2009 he visited.  Next week Obama will be in Texas speaking about civil rights.  His plans may change after recent events.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2014/04/03/obama-fort-hood-mass-shooting/7247971/

Low Voter Turnout

           LOW VOTER TURNOUT IN THE DC PRIMARY ELECTION

Voter turnout for the most recent primary election was at its lowest point in the past three decades. On Tuesday a mayoral primary was held.  Muriel Bowser served as the Democratic nominee. Only a quarter of eligible voters casted a ballot.  Those not eligible could be for a variety of reasons. For example if you register as an independent you forfeit your rights to vote in primary elections. The recent mayoral race in Chicago reported a low forty two percent turnout which is much higher than the percent reported in DC on Tuesday. The city of DC was expecting a better turnout.  The Board of Elections expressed feelings of anticipation of a higher number of people casting ballots.  There are still absentee ballots not yet accounted for so only unofficial voting results have been released.  There are also provisional ballots among those uncounted.  There were much fewer democratic voters casting ballots in the primary.  Gray, the other candidate, decided to aim his campaign towards African American voters east of the Anacostia River.  Gray’s winning margin dropped by thousands.  Many different things affect voter turnout.

             A lot of people have a variety of different reasons for not participating in primary elections. For example if it is too cold out some people may choose to sit this election out.  It can be for something as simple as the weather that people didn’t show up to cast their vote.  A lot of people also felt that their opinion didn’t matter and that their single vote would have little to no effect on the current situation. This is sadly one of the biggest reasons for low voter turnout.  People feel that their voice and opinions aren't being heard. Candidates will do all sorts of things to either get more voters to show up or get more voters to stay at home, depending on which is more beneficial to them and their campaign. This was a close race even though only a small percentage of eligible voters casted their vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/voter-turnout-for-dc-primary-lowest-in-three-decades/2014/04/02/6b96972e-ba2f-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html

The Pope, The President, and Religious Freedom

              Both the Pope and the President share common goals of fighting poverty and increased inequality. Secretary of State John Kerry previously met with Pietro Parolin, the secretary, of the Vatican.  There are a lot of differences in opinions of contraceptives and aborifacient mandates. Many liberals attempt to appear more conservative at the Vatican to advance their personal interests.  This has been the case for decades and it will continue to be this way.   The oral argument regarding Obama care and contraception occurred not too long ago and continues to be a major issue.  The Restoration of Religious Freedom Act, or RFRA, provides exceptions for the religious views of particular groups of people and individuals.  This makes legislation regarding controversial topics even more difficult.  Religious institutions have moral authority separate and apart from the state. 

             The meeting between President Obama and Pope Francis was very important for future mandates and for overall communication. This meeting and all future meetings between the Pope and the President will be crucial, especially for public opinion. The church and the Pope hold true to many traditional ideals that recent legislation doesn’t necessarily uphold.  People of every faith need to be able to accept each other’s ideals and beliefs in order to live and work in unison.  Many Americans will hold true to their religious opinions and beliefs. Both the Pope and the President will continue to work together and do their best to make sure that their goals of fighting poverty and increased inequality will be achieved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2014/03/26/pope-francis-president-obama-and-religous-freedom/