Can A Female Handle The Presidency?

Recently, on Live! with Kelly and Michael, Hillary Clinton was asked what would be some of the advantages of having a woman president? In a short clip she shared on Twitter, she responded with two different points.

Women are great at multitasking. Women can work, keep the house clean, make dinner, take care of the children, keep bills on track, etc. So this can be a great quality to have in the White House.

Also, women in general have different experiences then men. Specifically, she mentions how being a women, a mother, and being a grandmother can bring something different to table. It could help bring people together.

 

https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/667515624197783552

 

 

Not aimed at Clinton, but if any woman was president, what do you guys think would be the outcome? Would the things that Clinton lists actually be beneficial? Are there other advantages of having a female president? Any disadvantages? Or would having a female president just be a disaster all together? 

Should We Be Scared?

According to The New York Times, Donald Trump has said that he thinks there should be a database of all Muslims in the United States. Every Muslim should be required to register in the database. If he becomes president, he will implement this because "they absolutely have to be registered." Reportedly, Trump was questioned on how such a database would be different from the Jews having to register in Nazi Germany, and he replied with "You tell me," and then further ignored the question. Later, Trump tweeted this...

 

I can understand both sides of the refugee argument. Especially since the recent attacks, I cannot get on social media, or any other internet source, without seeing something about refuges, terrorists, ISIS, and Muslims. Whether Trump really said there needs to be such a database or not, it is still a scary thought. I took an entire course dedicated solely to the Holocaust, so anyone who is educated about it, they will know how similar things are sounding between now and at the start of Nazi Germany. I could write a book about how similar things are. I am not saying that another Holocaust is going to happen, but when I hear things like "all Muslims need to be registered" and "we need to send all Muslims out of America" and "all Muslims need to be placed into communities shut-off from the rest of America," ... I only see things going downhill. Things will either get better, or they will get worse. Like I said, I understand both sides of the argument, and because of that, I am not really sure where I stand on the debate. I do think that measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of Americans, but I feel like it has turned into the safety of everyone except Muslims. Don't forget, there are Muslim Americans, too. But then again, I know that just because someone is born in America, and grows up "American," does not mean they are not a threat. Terrorists groups can use a tactic like that to catch us off guard. So, what do we do? Will a database registering all Muslims help ensure our safety, or will it turn into something far worse? Should we be scared of Muslims, even the Muslims who are born and raised in America, or do we befriend them?

Crippled America

Recently, Trump's new book Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, was put on the shelves and he has been bombarded with questions asking if he is going to take any time off to promote his new book, or what he will do with the proceeds.

 

Supposedly, Trump is not taking any time off to promote his book. Some of his supporters have said that he doesn't need publicity tours because Trump has "spent the past 40 years creating his famous and successful brand." Also, all money will go to charity. This made me ask how much has he donated to charity before?

Trump has said that he has donated $102 million to conservation and philanthropic groups over the past five years. His campaign has provided little to no records of that amount of donations being made, and tax filings indicate that Trump has not donated to his own nonprofit since 2008.

If you have not seen or heard of the video yet, Trump has stated that he had it "rough" starting out with only a small loan of $1 million from his father. On "The Late Show" Colbert announced that he had signed a check for $1 million on behalf of Harlem Children's Zone, a charitable a group that disrupts the cycle of poverty among families in need in Harlem, New York. Colbert challenged Trump to sign the check since $1 million is such a small amount for him. So now, I am interested to see if he really does donate the proceeds from his book, or not.

All I can think is "If $1 million is a small amount of money, then throw some "small amount" of money my way Mr. Trump!

 



"Texting My Girl Hillary."

Did you text Hillary during the last GOP debate? Many people signed up to receive live texts from her during the debate. This was new to me, and I have never heard of any other candidate doing something like this. Her first sent text message said "Seems to me: 10 candidates. 0 new ideas. -H



Those who had signed up to "text Hillary" received these live texts, plus had the chance to text back and have their comments viewed as well. Despite what you may think of Hillary, do you think this was a good strategy? Technology, social media, internet, and cellphones have become such an important thing in our lives today and that is why I think this was a cool idea. Lately, in course material we have been discussing the importance of social media in campaigns. I think that receiving live texts definitely takes it to another level.

Hillary also live tweeted during the debate, and one tweet sparked some anger among people. She tweeted a GIF of herself at the Benghazi hearings that shows her sitting there looking bored, as she brushes off her shoulder.

Marco Rubio said on Good Morning America, “I found it outrageous that she used video from the Benghazi hearing — a hearing about the loss of four American lives — to put up something trivial about her brushing something off her shoulder, that was a serious hearing about a serious issue.”

What do you think? Did she take it too far by using that GIF?

Everyone Argues On Twitter, It's The "New" Thing

Recently, Trump commented on how George W. Bush handled the 9/11 attacks and Jeb Bush has stepped in to defend his brother. Trump was asked how he would handle a catastrophe such as the 9/11 attacks or the 2012 shooting in Newtown. He replied by saying, "I think I have a bigger heart than all of them. I think I'm much more competent then all of them. I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time." And then went on to say, (referring to George W. Bush) "He was president, okay? Blame him or don't blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign." Bush has responded saying that his brother kept us safe, and Trump's comments are "pathetic."

 

I find this funny, because Trump did mention the WTC coming down during George W. Bush's term.

 

And of course, Trump tries to end the Twitter debate by criticizing Bush on something that doesn't have anything to do with the initial arguments over George W. Bush's presidency. If presidential elections have taught me anything, it's that when in doubt, just criticize your opponent. That's how you really win an argument, duh!

And just today, Bush tweeted again on the matter with a linked video that makes Trump look like he has no idea what he is doing.

 Here is the link to the short clip.

Do you agree with Trump? Is George W. Bush to blame for what happened?

Club For Growth Is Still After Trump

The Club for Growth is at it again against Donald Trump. A few weeks ago, Club for Growth began a $1 million series of TV ads, that aimed to expose Trump's liberal record on healthcare, taxes, bailouts, and property rights. A new poll of Iowa Republican caucus voters indicate that the more they hear of Trump's liberal ideas, the more they reject those ideas. Eleven candidates were tested, and Trump rated seventh as the most favroable, and rated second highest as the most unfavorable. The president of Club for Growth said, "Donald Trump is not a conservative, and that message is getting through to Iowa." Club for Growth is aiming to expand their TV advertisments to other states in the near future. Trump defended himself on Twitter, and the Club for Growth replied with a threat indicating that this round of attack ads will not be the last. 

http://www.clubforgrowth.org/uncategorized/new-poll-trump-lead-in-iowa-gone/

Hey, Want A MarcoPolo?

I decided to go through a couple of the presidential candidates’ websites and check them out. I found some pretty interesting stuff! Of course, every website had a “donate” option. They all listed the issues each candidate stands for, ways to volunteer, merchandise you can purchase, and so on. I did not look at everyone’s website, but from the seven that I did look at, from what I could tell Cruz’s, Bush’s, Carson’s, and Clinton’s websites were the only ones to offer a Spanish option alongside English. I thought this was a good idea because it allows even those who cannot read English to visit his website, and learn his stance on policies and everything else. Seems like a smart idea to me! Of course, Trump did not have this option. *Laughing Emoji Face*

Each website had some cool and interesting things in their “store.”

Carson had some hilarious tees! Well, I thought they were pretty funny…

Cruz had an entire "hunters gear" collection with his name on everything, of course.

Clinton had a "pride pack" that included a LBGT v-neck tee, 6 pride buttons, and 6 pride bumper stickers.



And you can get a FREE bumper sticker from the Fiorina website.

And a MarcoPolo (see what he did there?) from the Rubio site. Also, all his products are American made.

Bush's store says "The perfect way to be “All In for Jeb”…and all in for fashion" So you know, his apparel his obviously the most fashionable. And if you love your dad as much as Bush loves his, then you can buy this shirt from his store as well.

 

It is interesting to see how each candidate's' website differs. From the setup, to the things sold at the store, to what is first shown when you open the site.

The best part of looking at all the websites was the first website that I thought was Fiorina's. But once I opened it, I got a little kick out of it haha.

http://carlyfiorina.org/

The first thing you see on the site is this.

 

Followed by 3,000 sad faces, I'm guessing because once you finally scroll down through all the sad faces you see this.

 

Of course, she has an actual, working website, but I thought this was too funny not to share.

 

Is It Worth It?

During the partial government shutdown in 2013, many federal workers were paid retroactively, while others were never paid at all. This caused many problems for those who were not paid because they struggled to pay bills. An article from The Washington Post, talks about two women who struggled greatly through the government shutdown. They were both federal contractor employees who lost all pay during the shutdown. One woman could not pay her rent and had to move in with her mother and get a second job, while the other woman did not have enough money to pay her electricity bill.

With these fears still deep in the minds of those federal workers who lost so much pay, more worries rise now of yet another government shutdown. Some House Republicans are against providing funding for Planned Parenthood. If an agreement cannot be reached soon, there may very well be another government shutdown. Perhaps, one of the most frightening parts of a government shutdown is that federal workers do not really know how harsh the consequences will be until it actually happens. Shutdowns do not affect every federal worker the same. Some workers continue to work, and others are shut out of their job.

A reality of a (partial) government shutdown may happen again if Congress does not approve government funding before the deadline. John Tomlin, a Labor Department contractor said, “There’s a handful of hateful, stupid jerks in Congress who would do anything to advance their own personal agendas. They seem to have forgotten what their real job is.” The entire situation has caused much worry, anger, and stress on thousands of people.

 Obama and the administration have tweeted on the matter saying, “Congress needs to do their job” and making comments about taking away access to women’s healthcare.

 

Planned Parenthood has been the center of many discussions for a while now. While I am sure that everyone is aware of the reasons why people are so against it, check out one of my fellow classmate’s, Aspen Glanville, blog posts to catch up on the good things that PP offers. I think that she did an awesome job at relaying the “other side” of the story. http://aspenglanville.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-other-side-of-planned-parenthood.html#comment-form

Everyone will have his or her opinions on the matter. I understand that some will be against Planned Parenthood, and some will stand with Planned Parenthood. However, whatever your thoughts/opinions are of Planned Parenthood, I just have one question, “Is it worth another government shutdown?” A shutdown might not affect you directly or even indirectly, but it will affect countless others. Is it worth it?

Muslims and United States Presidents, Can They Be The Same?

I am sure we have all heard by now of Ahmed Mohamed and the incident with his clock. His story and what happened to him overtook social media and news outlets within hours and he was being supported from people all over, check out this BuzzFeed link that shares some of the people that reached out to Ahmed. http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/teen-arrested-for-bringing-a-homemade-clock-to-school-now-ha#.kkBX5w62A

President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter, Google Science Fair, Reddit, engineers from NASA, and the list goes on, all reached out to Ahmed asking to meet him, talking internships, jobs, and more. Ahmed thanked everyone for all the support, and posted a Tweet saying, “I really didn’t think people would care about a Muslim boy.” There have been arguments made that the school followed policy and that they had to ensure the safety of all children. People are opposing that argument by saying that if Ahmed would have been a white boy the situation would not have been escalated the way it did. And that the measures that resulted in Ahmed being arrested only happened so quickly because he is a Muslim and Muslims are associated with bombs and things of the like. Whatever your opinion on the matter is, I thought this story would be a great opener to discussing Muslims as presidents of the United States.

Over the weekend, Ben Carson made a comment saying that he does not think a Muslim is fit to be in the White House. However, he recently spoke on his comment by saying "I don't care what a person's religion beliefs are or religious heritage is, if they embrace our Constitution and are willing to place that above their religious beliefs, I have no problem with that." In a Facebook post this past Monday night Carson wrote “I could never support a candidate for President of the United States that was Muslim and had not renounced the central tenant of Islam: Sharia Law. Those Republicans that take issue with my position are amazing. Under Islamic Law, homosexuals – men and women alike – must be killed. Women must be subservient. And people following other religions must be killed. I know that there are many peaceful Muslims who do not adhere to these beliefs. But until these tenants are fully renounced…I cannot advocate any Muslim candidate for President.”

Carly Fiorina disagrees with Carson on the matter. She stated that in our constitution it says that religion cannot be a test for office. She also stated how she believes people of faith (any faith I am guessing since she did not specify) make better leaders. Bernie Sanders also publicly disagreed with Caron’s opinions. He brought up how the U.S. overcame prejudice with electing a Catholic (John F. Kennedy) and electing an African American (Barack Obama).

 

There have also been negative comments towards Obama saying that he is a Muslim. Obama has repeatedly stated that he practices the Christian faith, and the White House even released copies of Obama’s original birth certificate in an attempt to put the theories to rest concerning Obama’s place of birth. Trump was questioned on the matter and did not respond, which caused some uproar by some media sites. Trump took to Twitter to say how it was a no-win situation for him.

 

He also commented on how it was Hillary Clinton (supposedly, I am not sure if this holds any truth or not) that first started all the rumors of Obama being a Muslim.

Some people bring up separation of church and state, and say that as long as those who run our country have learned the difference between the two (church and state), religion should not be a factor in determining who can and cannot be president. What are everyone’s opinions on this? I am not at all offering my opinion, so please do not assume you know my opinions on this matter, this is just a really interesting subject to me and I am interested to know everyone else’s opinions as well. I do not want  tocause any trouble on my blog, but just some food for thought… I do not see anyone questioning Christians in positions of power. So, as long as it is the Christian religion then it is okay, but if it is a Muslim or other religions then it is wrong?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/22/politics/ben-carson-religious-beliefs-muslim/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-ben-carson-muslim-president_55ff3a2ae4b0fde8b0ceba6

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/22/carly-fiorina-tells-jimmy-fallon-carson-wrong-muslims-serving-president/72607754/

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lets-comment-muslims-problem-us-slide/story?id=33847640

Who Is The Real Lair?

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned how the Club for Growth was also in the game to try and stop Donald Trump. Interestingly, just today Trump was tweeting about the Club for Growth in a negative light.  David McIntosh, the president of Club for Growth, said that "It’s astonishing that he’s even running as a Republican. Trump is the most liberal candidate on fiscal policy in the whole field, with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders. His angry style may reflect the deep frustration Americans have with Washington leaders who have failed to keep their promises. But the policies he’d implement would benefit himself and his own interests, not the American people. That makes him the worst kind of politician." The Club for Growth is hoping to expose Trump for the person he really is. The club believes that Trump has basically done nothing expect lie to the American people. They hsve created some ads that shine negativity on Trump. Trump states that everything that the club has said are lies. Check out this page that has the negative ads and a few bullet points of all the things the club believes Trump is doing wrong or has done wrong. http://www.clubforgrowth.org/trump-worst-kind-of-politician/

However, Trump is not letting those who oppose him forget where he is at in the polls, and how all efforts to destroy his campaign have failed. 

Are You Having Trouble Sleeping At Night?

Are you having trouble sleeping at night? If so, listen to Jeb Bush... at least that is what Donald Trump thinks anyways. Trump posted a video to his Instagram account 6 days ago. The video acts as an advertisement for those who have trouble sleeping at night, and it shows a clip of Jeb Bush giving a speech and a young woman falling asleep in the background. At least he is being creative with his ads, right?

https://instagram.com/p/7YV_u_mhWB/?taken-by=realdonaldtrump

Trump has also posted numerous other videos on his account concerning many different things and bashing the other candidates. He also posted a video about Jeb Bush's stance on illegal immigration. The video features pictures of illegal immigrants that have been charged and/or convicted of murder. I find this interesting, and it is just another way of trying to sway people's opinions, but it seems like the video is implying that all illegal immigrants are horrible people and that they will more than likely murder someone... umm what?

https://instagram.com/p/7DdvbEmhWG/?taken-by=realdonaldtrump

 If you have not ever looked at Donald Trump's Instagram account, please do! Whether you are for him, against him, loving him, and despise him, his account has some interesting posts, and some pretty outrageous posts that will surely entertain anyone!

Moreover, (you probably saw this coming) Jeb Bush has also uploaded videos that are negative towards Trump. Bush posted a video on his Instagram account of Trump, from years ago during an interview. Trump was asked “Then why are you a Republican?” And Trump responded with “I have no idea.” Bush captioned the video with something along the lines of “that is because you’re not [a Republican].

https://instagram.com/p/7FvjnLwEfz/?taken-by=jebbush

Social media has become such a prominent tool in today’s world. It is not just for our social entertainment anymore, but there are those who use it to promote their selves, their business, their campaign, etc. It is interesting (and entertaining!!!) to see how the presidential candidates interact with each other through social media and how they utilize the various sites to help promote their campaign. It really makes me think of how different elections were in the times before social media and the types of other media that we have today. If you have not seen the 1964 Johnson v. Goldwater television ad, “Peace Little Girl (Daisy)” then you must watch it!! It was one of the earliest television attack ads. We have come from the “Daisy Girl” ad, to the candidates themselves posting attacks on social media.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964/peace-little-girl-daisy

"This Great Nation Will Never TURN DOWN FOR WHAT"

Although this does not follow my usual theme, I just HAVE to share a video I came across today. I literally never watch cable television, so I do not keep up-to-date with these types of shows, but luckily, I saw this on one of my personal social media accounts. I have tried to always add a little bit of humor in my posts, because I think it makes them more interesting for my readers. I saw this video and I literally laughed so hard!! On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jeb Bush is a guest and "impersonates" Donald Trump. Check it out HERE!!!

Just in case the link does not open.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmGflkMYi5k

"How Can We Stop Trump?!"

Some of the Republican Party's biggest donors have started asking the question "How can we stop Donald Trump?" They believe that Trump is a threat to their party. There have been worries that Trump's harsh immigration stances and his actions toward women are going to ruin the Republican Party's chance of coming out on top in the elections. These worries are not just concerning the upcoming presidential elections, but possibly congressional and other elections as well. The problem is figuring out what to do about the perceived issue. There have already been several actions taken such as discussing the possibility of creating a super PAC to try to sway the conservatives' opinions on Trump and persuade them that Trump is “not one of them." However, one of the toughest problems is believed to be the issue of money and publicity. The way the Republican Party looks at it (at least those that share these same views) is that there is no amount of money that is going to be enough to stop Trump. Moreover, Trump is constantly all over the news and the media (he even gets talked about on my blog!!) that he does not plan for, which is just free publicity.

The New York Times also discusses the Club for Growth that has been trying to work against Trump's campaign. The Club for Growth has spent millions of dollars in the past to ensure that Republican campaigns that do not follow the traditional conservative traditions will fail at elections. However, on the issue of Trump, even the president of the club is at a blockade and is not sure what can be done to stop Donald Trump. The New York Times article goes into deeper detail and offers a lot of information on this subject. I encourage all my readers to check it out!

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/05/us/politics/talk-in-gop-turns-to-a-stop-donald-trump-campaign.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Just today, Donald Trump posted a couple of tweets concerning similar topics that the article discusses. While I am not sure what ads Trump is referring to, it is clear that the ads hit him some kind of way especially if he is tweeting about it and somewhat trying to defend himself.

Just a couple of days before Trump posted his tweets I just mentioned, Jeb Bush tweeted about Trump. "Trump is trying to insult his way to the Presidency and it's not going to work..." Which is what The New York Times article basically discusses. Some believe that Trump is making the entire Republican Party look bad. The counterargument, in short, is that Trump is speaking on the government issues that the people are pissed about. He "knows" the people's anger, and he is not afraid to speak on those issues.

I am just sitting over wondering why Trump and Bush are not @'ing each other? Nobody likes a sub-tweeter, and if you are going to mention someone's name, at least @ them, right? That sure would be a lot more interesting.  

Let's hash it out on Twitter...

In their book, Mass Media and American Politics, Graber and Dunaway explain how the expansion of the media into a readily online source, anywhere and anytime, has had negative consequences for those in the news profession or those in the public eye. It is no surprise to this generation that the internet and social media can have severe consequences depending on the type of posts that are shared with the public. The political arena has, and probably always will be a cutthroat, and harsh type of world. Especially during election times, politicians will say and do what will get them the most people on their side, because during an election, it is always about the votes, right? It is a competition, and competitions are meant to be won at all costs, right?

Harsh and demeaning campaign ads have been aired on television since before I was born. The moral of just about every demeaning campaign ad is “vote for me because I am right and the other candidate is everything that is horrible on this planet.” While campaign ads are still just as harsh and over-the-top as they have been for years, what is even more interesting, in my opinion, is that when these politicians take to social media websites to bash those who they are in competition with.

The seemingly ongoing debate between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush surrounding Planned Parenthood is something that has taken over Twitter. While both Clinton and Bush's Twitter accounts have been sure to tweet their opinions on the matter, they have also taken numerous hits at each other with sly remarks and downgrading posts of one another. It seems as if the debate has evolved into an “I can make you look worse than what you are trying to make me look like” game.

During a meeting at the Southern Baptist Convention, Jeb Bush said, “I’m not sure we need a half billion dollars for women’s health issues.” This sparked even more tension between Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton when she responded to the discussion held at the convention declaring how ultimately wrong Jeb Bush was on the matter. Of course, Bush responded to Clinton’s comments by saying how what is wrong is giving an organization (Planned Parenthood) money to take away unborn lives (Planned Parenthood has been targeted for some time now concerning their abortion polices). Clinton responded with a statement that is basically saying that Bush does not care about women’s health and so on. I can go on forever about how the two went back and forth targeting each other and responding to each and every little comment the other made. People.com has an excellent article that gives almost all the full details of the quarrel these two have going on concerning the matters of Planned Parenthood and women’s health issues. Read about it here! http://www.people.com/article/hillary-clinton-jeb-bush-fight-planned-parenthood-womens-health

Check out these tweets! There are not from Clinton nor Bush, but numerous people have joined in on the discussion. 

This snapshot is probably my most favorite ever. People responding to a harsh comment that Jeb Bush tweeted to Hillary Clinton about drilling in the Arctic.

Many are furious that Bush supposedly does not care about women's health. The argument is that while Planned Parenthood may have a controversy going on, they still provide many important women's health services.

Clinton's Twitter weighs in by just simply stating how wrong Bush is. Keep in mind that, Clinton's Twitter Bio specifically says that tweets that come directly from Hillary Clinton herself will be signed with "-H." However, it is safe to say that if this is being posted on her Twitter account, then she agrees with the post. This is not the only post directed towards Bush either. Take a look at her Twitter account to see all the tweets yourself! The tweets and the replies get really intriguing! 

You know things get real when you @ someone!!!!!! 

Also, Bush's Twitter Bio says nothing about whether all tweets come directly from him, or a staff. Either way, his account is very active in all things political, and there are other tweets toward Clinton on his account, so them out as well! 

The rivalry between these two is interesting, but aren't all "fights" between political competitors interesting? Even when it has nothing to do with the Planned Parenthood and women's health issues, Jeb Bush just couldn't help but to sneak in a little extra punch at Clinton on social media! 

Whatever side you may stand on in this debate, the one thing I think we can all agree on is that politicians on social media is one of the most fastest informing news outlets, and yet, very dramatic. You grab the popcorn, I'll grab the drinks, and let's decide who we want to be our next President of the United States by how well they are at bashing one another on social media websites! 

.... Only joking you guys

Or am I?