Stuff YOU Should Know
A Year of Action: President Gives State of the Union
When writing the Constitution, our forefathers decided that our president would, “from time to time, give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.” In it, he would “recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary.” This means summarizing the recent accomplishments and challenges of the administration and expressing goals for the upcoming year.
On January 28, President Obama gave his fifth Sate of the Union in front of a crowd made up of Congress and invited guests. He encouraged Congress to make this “a year of action,” focusing on the lives, hopes and aspirations of all Americans. (To see the White House’s interactive Web page dedicated to the speech, click here.)
Here are some highlights of the 65-minute speech:
- “With or Without” Congress While the president said he was willing to work with Congress, he also said he would act on his own to slash unnecessary bureaucracy involved with rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.
- Expanding Opportunity for American Families President Obama introduced an individual retirement savings plan called MyRA. He asked Congress to further extend unemployment benefits and increase the minimum wage. He also called on businesses to voluntarily raise worker wages.
- Immigration The president got a big ovation when addressing a plan to fix a broken immigration system. Both parties seem to be capable of working together to create a comprehensive solution toward reform.
- Environment President Obama began this portion of the speech by stating that climate change is a fact. This is a controversial position to take for some people in the United States. The president also asked Congress to revise tax codes to reduce tax breaks for the fossil fuel industries.
- Education Race to the Top (a funding program for American schools) will be extended to include pre-Kindergarten. For those with student loans, the president proposed capping repayment at 10% of their income.
- “Obamacare” Despite its challenges, the president urged Congress to not to vote to repeal the law again. This issue is probably the biggest division between parties.
- National Security The president said American troops would be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year and that our military would be moving out of a mode of permanent war. He vowed reform of our nation’s surveillance program and the closing of Guantanamo Bay. For veterans, he proposed better healthcare, including mental health.
Republican Response
As is custom, the Republican Party offered a post-speech rebuttal. This year, there were three. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers gave the official response. She said that while the president and the Republicans both want the American people to have better lives, they disagree sharply on the best way to achieve that goal. She said that the president’s policies are making American life harder, and that the Republicans would like to create more jobs and see less government spending.
What Do You Think? Did you watch the State of the Union. Do some research and list five interesting facts about the annual address.
Syrian Peace Talks
The last time btw reported on the ongoing and complicated conflict in Syria, the United Nations Security Council (with big help from Russia) had successfully convinced the Syrian government to voluntarily rid itself of chemical weapons. This has led to the Geneva II Conference on Syria, which took place January 22 – 28 in Montreux and Geneva, Switzerland. Thirty-eight countries from the United Nations gathered together with the collective goal of seeing an end to the civil war in Syria.
The biggest obstacle in the talks has been the subject of a transfer of power from current president Bashar al-Assad to another leader. The National Coalition for Syrian and Opposition Forces is a collective of various political groups in Syria who are opposed to the current leadership. The basis of the convention was to develop a transition plan. Opposition groups insist that Bashas al-Assad must step down as president. But the current government has, so far, refused all discussion on the matter, saying that they wish to discuss the topic of ending terrorism first. Those covering the talks are calling them stalled, although both sides have agreed to continue having discussions.
Dig Deeper Find one point, even minor, where there was some agreement during the Geneva Convention II.
Preparation for Super Bowl and Olympics
Last month, btw reported on how Sochi successfully won the bid to host the upcoming Winter Olympic games and the subsequent improvements made to the city. As the games draw closer, we thought we’d give you a closer look. There have been a number of concerns linked to the Sochi games. First of all, the country is located in the southern part of Russia along the Black Sea where the climate is considered “subtropical.” However, the unseasonably cold weather that has affected much of the world has provided an adequate amount of snow (plus, organizers were able to store about 15 million cubic feet of snow from last year under thermal blankets, in addition to artificial snow machines). Terrorism is another threat. While most Olympic games bring some threat of an attack, Sochi is located very close to the North Caucasus, where Islamic extremists are in the midst of a violent insurgency. More than 30,000 police officers and troops have been brought in to provide security.
The upcoming Super Bowl may be held in a significantly less dangerous place–the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey–but precautions are being made nonetheless. In part because of last year’s Boston Marathon bombings, the perimeter of MetLife Stadium has been secured with 2.5 miles of fencing. The location of the Super Bowl changes each year. Interested cities make a “bid” to the National Football League up to five years in advance. This is the first Super Bowl to take place in the New York Metropolitan Area. Across the river from the stadium, ten-blocks around Broadway in Manhattan have been closed down for Super-Bowl related events, including concerts and NFL player appearances.
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30th Anniversary of Macintosh Computer
Speaking of the Super Bowl, it was thirty years ago that the Apple Macintosh computer debuted its now legendary “1984” advertisement during Super Bowl XVIII. In it, a droning crowd watches a projected head speak to them. A young woman runs at the head and throws a hammer into the screen, exploding it. The tagline was “You’ll see why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984’.” This was in reference to the 1949 novel by George Orwell about a futuristic society of forced conformity.
To commemorate the anniversary of the Mac, more than 100 members of the original development team gathered together to share their stories in front of an audience in the same auditorium where Steve Jobs unveiled the very first Mac. Making a product that was user friendly was an important motivation for the design team. They wanted for people to be able to figure out how to use it without using a manual. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs also envisioned the computer taking up minimal space on a desk, which was a big idea considering early computers took up whole rooms.