Thursday, January 20, 2011

Week 2 Blog

In the past few weeks, many important events have occurred, but two in particular were more newsworthy: the tragic shooting in Tucson on the January 8 and the newsworthy comments made by Maine Governor Paul LePage. We, as citizens of the United States of America, are entitled to our rights as citizens; however, occasionally there are times when people need to be put back in line, as they have gone too far.

On January 8, Gabrielle Giffords, a United States Representative from Arizona, was holding a constituent meeting called “Congress on Your Corner;” by 10:15a.m., this was all but over, as 22-year old Jared Lee Loughner fired off 15-20 gunshots—according to a 911 call—including one into the head of Giffords. She was lucky enough to survive, but six others were not as fortunate. This brought a lot of comments to the surface, as Charissa stated, Loughner was in contact with his target; he was not considered to be a threat by any means, but it brings the top of increasing security measures into discussion. Within my lifetime, we have seen heightened security at almost every level: recreational events, travel and leisure, and even at educational institutions.

On January 14, Paul LePage—the Governor of Maine—had more than enough negative and rude comments to cover national headlines. He had declined the NAACP’s invitation that marked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, saying that “[he’s] not going to be held hostage by special interests.” Then, when he was under pressure of the organization for failing to attend events (on more than one occasion), he stated that they can “…kiss [his] butt.” In my opinion, if he couldn’t have attended the event, as he was attending a funeral for a police officer, he should have sent a representative on his (and the state’s) behalf. Of course, LePage has been known for his lack of morals and need of a filter; I would certainly hate to be on his public relations committee.

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