OurThoughts

Romney Files for Candidacy in Washington, D.C.

collinb4president — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:30:47 +0000

Mitt Romney has recently just filed for candidacy in Washington, D.C. His son Josh Romney gave a stack of 700 signatures to the D.C. Board of Elections yesterday (Wednesday). Even though D.C. is a Democratic district, Romney still filed for candidacy there. He has already paid the $5,000 filing fee as have Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, and Newt Gingrich. Romney is now officially the only candidate for president in Washington, D.C.

After D.C.’s April 3 primary, it will send its 19 delegates to the National Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida. Republicans could face more drawn-out processes in 2012 and later since the Republican National Committee “changed its rules and pressured states to reject winner take-all rules for delegate allotment. It is highly possible that every delegate could vote next year.

I think it is just a matter of time before the other GOP candidates will file for candidacy in Washington, D.C. Although, the district probably will not be a deciding factor in the election. As for the delegation rules, I personally need to study more on the issue since this is new information.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/mitt-romney-files-for-candidacy-in-washington-d-c/

Surprising Candidates Are Rising in the GOP Elections

collinb4president — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:23:34 +0000

Mitt Romney has been the leading GOP candidate until the Iowa caucus. His strong showing before was severely put to the test when he won the Iowa caucuses by a very slim margin of 8 votes over Rick Santorum. Since Rick Santorum’s strong competitiveness in Iowa, the media has made him very popular in the Republican world. However, for the the conservative Republicans to overcome Romney, they will have to rally behind one, and only one, candidate; the candidate will probably be Santorum at this moment. However, the chances of the conservatives doing this are very slim.

Newt Gingrich still could beat Romney for the GOP spot. He will have to display a very strong showing in the South. Jon Huntsman is another rising candidate, but his chances of winning are still slim.

In all honesty, I believe Romney will win the GOP vote. However, I place all my support behind Rick Santorum not only because I think that he will beat Romney but also because his ideals are the closest to mine, being that I am mostly conservative.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/04/opinion/gergen-gop-campaign/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

U.S. Drone Issue with Iran Now Reaching Extreme Heights

collinb4president — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:22:01 +0000

The U.S. drone that the Iranians supposedly downed earlier this month is now not as important as it originally was. U.S. officials now claim that the Russians sold a highly sophisticated jamming technology to the Iranians. This jamming technology can supposedly bring down missiles, planes, and communication and guidance systems. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says that Congress ought to be worried if Iran has these new capabilities because it poses a greater and more dangerous risk to the United States. He said that our military denies that Russia sold this equipment to Iran.

The Iranians have refused to return the U.S. drone to our military stating that “We are not the kind of country to allow our enemy to operate freely within our national security and to continue without any response, but regarding the kind of reaction we will show, our enemies will see its effects.” There are debates about whether or not the U.S. should retrieve the drone, but Bolton states that there is a greater risk in doing so than leaving it alone. The only dangerous part is that the Iranians could figure out the information programmed into the drone if it still has electrons in there.

I think that the U.S. should wait to see what happens with this drone issue. If the Iranians cannot find any information stored on the drone, then there is no need for unnecessary concern. However, if Iran is now in possession of a sophisticated jamming technology, then there are a lot more things to be worried about. The U.S. should find out if the Russians sold Iran this technology. That, in my opinion, should be their top priority concerning this issue.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/11/bolton-iranian-jamming-technology-could-be-worse-news-than-downed-drone/

Romney’s Faith May Be an Issue in GOP Race

collinb4president — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:17:29 +0000

A recent poll, from Pew Research Center for People & the Press, portrays people’s opinion over whether or not Mitt Romney’s faith will affect his GOP Republican race. Some people believe this because Romney is a Mormon, or Latter-day Saint, which many people believe is not a Christian denomination. GOP hopeful Rick Perry, Romney’s chief adversary in this political race, calls Mormonism a “cult.” Someone else, named Robert Jeffress, called Perry a “true conservative” and “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” while preferring “a born-again follower of Christ,” meaning that he preferred Perry over Romney. Other Republicans believe that Romney’s belief would hinder other Christians’ work in American, resulting with many being at odds with him.

I believe that Romney’s faith could play a part in his presidential campaign and also his presidency, should he be elected. However, any other Christian, or non-Christian religion would play a role in any presidency. One should not judge Romney based on his personal beliefs.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-romney-immigration-20111123,0,5761571.story

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-romney-faith-study-20111123,0,4409404.story

Sen. Ayotte Endorses Romney; Becomes Possible VP for Him

collinb4president — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:17:06 +0000

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte announced that she backs Mitt Romney in the GOP Republican 2012 race for presidency. In an email, she emphasized Romney’s ability to successfully overcome Barack Obama in the 2012 election. Ayotte also believes that Romney will be able to carry the American country through these dark times involving al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups. She states that “…we need Governor Romney’s strong steady leadership to vigorously protect American interests.”

Mitt Romney has considered her as one of his possibilities for vice president if he wins the GOP ticket probably as a result of Ayotte’s recently announced backing of him. However, Ayotte says that Romney should consider Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. When asked about her view of Mitt Romney, she responded, “[Romney] is the person who can lead our country, change the direction, bring those conservative principles that we need to the White House, and most importantly make sure that Barack Obama is a one-term president.”

Considering that I do not know much about NH Sen. Kelly Ayotte, I am not sure if this would be a good move for Romney. However, I am also unsure if I would vote for Mitt Romney.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/19/n-h-senator-ayotte-to-endorse-romney/

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/22/romney-names-possible-running-mate/

Romney’s Automated Phone Calls Accuse Perry in Iowa

collinb4president — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:16:33 +0000

In the GOP race to win Iowa, Mitt Romney paid for automated phone calls to the citizens. In the phone messages, Romney’s GOP opponent, Rick Perry, is accused of contributing to illegal immigration in Texas. Perry, the governor of Texas, has been against the construction of fencing along Texas’ border with Mexico. Perry also signed a bill to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants and their children. Texas is the first state to do so. The voice of Sheriff Paul Babeu, a prominent national spokesman against illegal immigration from Southwest Texas, was one of the recorded messages that was played for people who did not answer their phones. These calls come as Romney is shifting his focus in Iowa to the caucuses.

Rick Perry now claims that Romney legalized health care benefits to illegal immigrants in Massachusetts when he was governor. Perry also says that Romney’s actions in Massachusetts made that state a primary target for illegal immigrants.

With these claims from Romney and Perry, I do not think that there is enough evidence to determine who is correct and who is wrong (however, both could be right or wrong). In addition, I think that choosing sides would be unimportant. These accusations are simply a ruse to demoralize the GOP hopefuls.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/04/romney-automated-calls-assail-perry-in-iowa/

“Santorum Has Strong Words for Iran”

makenarae93 — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:22:09 +0000

This past weekend, Senator Santorum devoted a large portion of his speech at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Reagan Dinner to the need of the looming threat of a nuclear Iran.

Santorum said. “I have been traveling around this country talking about the threat that Iran is to the future of our country and to the stability of the middle-east and of course to the nation of Israel. If Iran is in fact found to be close, the world as you know it will have changed and we will have to do something. We will have to do something to stop that production because an Iranian state that is fixated on the return of the 12th Imam and dominating the Islamic world cannot under any circumstances have a nuclear weapon.”

Yes, I agree that it is a threat and problem thatIranhas nuclear weapons. Therefore, theUnited Statesshouldn’t be ignorant of this fact and needs to be aware of this threat. But I personally do not know what theU.S.should do to fix this problem; so I am interested to see if Santorum says in the future what he plans on doing about this issue.

“Santorum Has Strong Words for Iran.” Rick Santorum for President | The Courage To Fight For America. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Santorum’s Foreign Policy Advantage

makenarae93 — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:21:44 +0000

This current event is a continuation of the current event I did last week regardingIran’s nuclear weapons. Unlike last week Rick Santorum now is out with a concrete plan aboutIran. He has fifteen points making up is plan but I have only included a couple of those.

Bring greater attention to human rights violations of the Iranian regime against democracy protestors and minority religious groups,
Work withIsraelto eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat immediately, and develop a potential plan for military action if needed,
Help create Strike Funds to help organizers on the ground publicly protest and overthrow the regime,
Economically targetIranby sanctioningIran’s central bank and open all forms of energy production in the U.S, effectively devastatingIran’s only economy,
Ensure Iranian officials cannot access any of their funds by freezing bank accounts and significantly limit their travel by revoking visas,
Refuse to negotiate on any level with the terrorist state ofIran,
Eliminate the post ofU.S.ambassador toSyria,
Stand withIsraelas an ally and in any effortsIsraelmay take to defend itself from Iranian aggression,
Work withIsraelto determine the proper military response needed to stabilize the region, protect our allies and protect this country – including the authorization of targeted air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

A conservative hawk points out that, “Since none of the candidates will be President for over a year, however, the issue now is what we should do ifIranattacks before next inauguration day. I think we should be as encouraging as possible, including offers to help out with intelligence and support, diplomatic efforts, and an express pledge to re-supply any and all airplane and ordnance losses as a result of Israeli attacks.” I don’t know if I agree with all the aspects of Santorum’s plan regardingIran. But I do agree that we need a plan and or foundation of ideas to be put into action in caseIrandoes use its nuclear weapons in the near future.

“Santorum’s Foreign Policy Advantage” Rick Santorum for President/The Courage to Fight for America.Web.16Nov.2011.http://www.ricksantorum.com.

World Vision’s Hiring Rights

makenarae93 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:28:19 +0000

Recently World Vision fired three employees for not agreeing to World Vision’s statement of faith. The three sued, arguing that the organization was humanitarian, not religious, but lower courts said World Vision does qualify as a religious organization. The U.S Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the case concerning World Vision’s policy to hire Christians only; therefore, the ruling of the 9^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in favor of World Vision stands. The high court’s decision means that World Vision can continue requiring its employees to agree to a statement of faith.

President Barack Obama’s administration hasn’t been clear on what they believe about the liberty of religious institutions to hire and fire based on religious beliefs. Therefore, I am surprised and so thankful that the Supreme Court backed up World Vision regarding hiring and firing based on religious beliefs. Because if they didn’t that would mean anyone could start working in church organizations or private Christian Universities, etc…which would be the next step in taking away our religious freedoms.

“Decision Stands.” World 22 Oct. 2012: 8.

Assad Warns Western Nations Against Intervention

collinb4president — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:25:13 +0000

Over the past seven months, the Syrian people have peacefully protested the regime of President Bashar Assad and have called for its downfall. However, the Syrian government dealt violently with the opposition, mass murdering the protestors. Recently, some Syrian soldiers have left the military and have begun to fight the Syrian government.

With the fall of Gadhafi’s regime in Libya, Assad has become increasingly nervous of foreign intervention, especially from America and Europe. He warns the Western and European nations not to intervene with Syrian protests, stating that he has the backing of several countries, including Iran, Lebanon, Palestine. Assad says that American or European intervention will create an ”earthquake,” causing much strife.

Personally, I think that the United Nations can give aid to the Syrian people if they ask for it. However, it is not other nations’ responsibility to aid other countries. Also, Assad’s regime should deal with the opposition peacefully and should listen to the people’s desires.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/30/assad-warns-against-intervention-in-syria-says-action-would-burn-region/?test=latestnews

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/30/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2