With several major news sources reporting Barak Obama's successful re-election campaign, there is a slight reminder that dates back 12 years to the Bush v Gore presidential race when news media had predicted a winner prematurely.
Much of the building has emptied as the news for president has come in and only those remain in wait to hear the results from the Riverside County measures and election hopefuls.
Proposition 30 is currently trailing 40% to 59% to those not in favor of the bill passing.
Proposition 32 is ahead 54% in favor to 46% against.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
And it's official
Barak Obama has been re-elected as President of the United States, according to several major news networks.
Obama surpassed the required 270 electoral vote count to win his second term in the white house.
News still coming in about the state-wide and Riverside county proposition and election results.
Swing States Decide
Well, the gathering doesn't "officially" begin until 7:30pm but there is a strong crowd already present here at the Republican Party election headquarters at the Mission Inn, Riverside.
In attendance are mostly students and a few of the city election hopefuls, some reporters (including Viewpoints) and Republican city members.
All attention is focused on the screens, with the swing states still holding the balance of who could take the white house. Ohio, Florida, Virginia all still being too close but not all the votes have been counted.
As it stands President Obama and President hopeful Romney are neck and neck.
In attendance are mostly students and a few of the city election hopefuls, some reporters (including Viewpoints) and Republican city members.
All attention is focused on the screens, with the swing states still holding the balance of who could take the white house. Ohio, Florida, Virginia all still being too close but not all the votes have been counted.
As it stands President Obama and President hopeful Romney are neck and neck.
"I Voted"
After turning in the ballot, receiving the iconic "I Voted" sticker means much more than what it says. Taking part in a phenomena that occurs only every four years is a big thing, but more importantly is taking an active part when so many others would chose to be passive and accept things as they come.
My first election means quite a bit, amid all the hype and pandemonium of people making their personal opinions heard. I too took part in sharing my thoughts on the candidates, the propositions, the measures, the consequences, ramifications, and how these would affect me personally as well as those around me.
It is unusual for some to passively vote; that is, to vote without much forethought or care of the outcomes. They still may take the sticker and place it above their hearts. Not to say this is anything particularly wrong with this, they are still serving their civic duty. But that same sticker doesn't mean much when voting this way. I can't say for sure how many do this as I did not go around looking over people's shoulders as they were making their marks (besides the fact that it is against the law).
Voting is a privilege as much as a civic duty. Voting reminds us that we are in control of our own fate, that it is up to us a community to make the decisions or elect those to make them for us. The "I Voted" sticker is a simple reminder of taking part in something bigger. Wear it with pride!
My first election means quite a bit, amid all the hype and pandemonium of people making their personal opinions heard. I too took part in sharing my thoughts on the candidates, the propositions, the measures, the consequences, ramifications, and how these would affect me personally as well as those around me.
It is unusual for some to passively vote; that is, to vote without much forethought or care of the outcomes. They still may take the sticker and place it above their hearts. Not to say this is anything particularly wrong with this, they are still serving their civic duty. But that same sticker doesn't mean much when voting this way. I can't say for sure how many do this as I did not go around looking over people's shoulders as they were making their marks (besides the fact that it is against the law).
Voting is a privilege as much as a civic duty. Voting reminds us that we are in control of our own fate, that it is up to us a community to make the decisions or elect those to make them for us. The "I Voted" sticker is a simple reminder of taking part in something bigger. Wear it with pride!
Rite of Passage
It’s
ironic the first time I've ever gone to castle park family fun center was to
vote, a very adult rite of passage in a place that holds the captured joy of
children. I walked up to the door, where a women dressed in black asked my for
my address, I gave it to her as I awaited her response,
for some reason nerves were getting the best of me, and worst case scenarios
echoed in my head. She smiled at me however and said “O.k. 16 at the very back.”
I walked through the doorway and walked up to the counter I gave the volunteer my last name. She scrambled around trying to find my name
with no luck she began to ask the other volunteers. I went to the correct voting place so my
address was the saving grace. Once she located my address she said “this is a
probationary ballot”. Her explanation gave me another
sense of dread. “This ballad will be counted after all the other ones” she
said. After the gave me the proper paper work I walked to the very last booth
in a tiny cramped room which held neighbors I have never met before, and probably will never meet again. I grabbed my pen and
started casting my votes. I was well prepared compared to my first time voting
years ago when I had just turned eight-teen. It took me about 5 minutes to mark
the 4 sides of information. Once I turned in my ballot I clarified
once more what would happen to my ballot. Apparently probationary ballots are
counted after all the regular ballots for those who had no issues: such as
address changes or un-mailed voter information. My ballad has a tracking number and most certainly counts. As for my vote for president I'm
keeping that a secret for a long time. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing now
Barak Obama, Mit Romney and Mark Takeno will not be calling me or reminding me
how important my vote is.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Kobe Bryant admits to his wrong and apologizes
In a game against the San Antonio Spurs, where the pressure was on to win the game, Kobe Bryant made a costly mistake.
In the third quarter Bryant was called for a foul where he disagreed and received a technical foul for excessive complaining. As he sat upset on the bench staring down the referee who called the foul, Bryant was caught on camera yelling at the referee a offensive slur rhyming with maggot.
At the moment no one reacted to the incident but today the incident was the talk of the nation as Human Rights Campaign publicly criticized Bryant's actions and demanded a apology for the gay and lesbian communities.
Bryant made a public apology before being fined $100,000 by the NBA. He said in his apology, basketball is a emotional sport.
"What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period," he said. "The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay & lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."
The Laker fans, the Lakers and Bryant was in the moment and with one misfortune against him and the Lakers, he lost his focus for a second and the word slipped out. He did NOT intend to use that specific word in a way to offend the gay and lesbian community. He was frustrated with the call the referee made and he purposely tried to insult the official. The word he might wanted to use was the other f-word.
Give the man a break, he publicly apologized and accepted his wrong actions.
Bryant again publicly apologized as he went on air with John Ireland and Steve Mason on AM 710 ESPN Los Angeles this afternoon.
He said he is going to work with the different gay and lesbian organizations to create awareness that it is not OK to use words such as what he used last night. He wants his actions to be an example to other NBA players and children that it is not OK what he did. A $100,000 fine is too much of an punishment but the NBA did take their action on the situation and Bryant did as well.
It is unfortunate for the word choice he made but this can become a great outcome. Bryant can show he understands and know what he did was wrong by teaming up with the Human Rights Campaign and other gay and lesbian organizations and do a lot of great work with the status he has.
His apology was heartfelt and truthful and in no means did he want what he did last night to become what it has today. Bryant is a man of his word and he will accomplish and follow through what he said he will do to resolve his mistake.
A side note: It is unfortunate that a camera was on Bryant when he said that but there are a lot more professional and non-professional athletes who use that word and many other harsh and harmful words on each other because they are humans and they are competitors who try to take a advantage of each other.
In the third quarter Bryant was called for a foul where he disagreed and received a technical foul for excessive complaining. As he sat upset on the bench staring down the referee who called the foul, Bryant was caught on camera yelling at the referee a offensive slur rhyming with maggot.
At the moment no one reacted to the incident but today the incident was the talk of the nation as Human Rights Campaign publicly criticized Bryant's actions and demanded a apology for the gay and lesbian communities.
Bryant made a public apology before being fined $100,000 by the NBA. He said in his apology, basketball is a emotional sport.
"What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period," he said. "The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay & lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."
The Laker fans, the Lakers and Bryant was in the moment and with one misfortune against him and the Lakers, he lost his focus for a second and the word slipped out. He did NOT intend to use that specific word in a way to offend the gay and lesbian community. He was frustrated with the call the referee made and he purposely tried to insult the official. The word he might wanted to use was the other f-word.
Give the man a break, he publicly apologized and accepted his wrong actions.
Bryant again publicly apologized as he went on air with John Ireland and Steve Mason on AM 710 ESPN Los Angeles this afternoon.
He said he is going to work with the different gay and lesbian organizations to create awareness that it is not OK to use words such as what he used last night. He wants his actions to be an example to other NBA players and children that it is not OK what he did. A $100,000 fine is too much of an punishment but the NBA did take their action on the situation and Bryant did as well.
It is unfortunate for the word choice he made but this can become a great outcome. Bryant can show he understands and know what he did was wrong by teaming up with the Human Rights Campaign and other gay and lesbian organizations and do a lot of great work with the status he has.
His apology was heartfelt and truthful and in no means did he want what he did last night to become what it has today. Bryant is a man of his word and he will accomplish and follow through what he said he will do to resolve his mistake.
A side note: It is unfortunate that a camera was on Bryant when he said that but there are a lot more professional and non-professional athletes who use that word and many other harsh and harmful words on each other because they are humans and they are competitors who try to take a advantage of each other.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Times up! Shutdown Averted!
With less than an hour to spare, the government shutdown has been averted! At least for the time being.
It is hard to swallow the idea that in order to come to a conclusion on where the federal funding should be placed and where it should be cut, federal programs have been hanging in the balance just to come up with answers in the nick of time.
The public relations, official statements and the backlash from the drawn out discussions of where the budget should stand and whether or not the government shutdown would occur has been like a badly played out high school drama of a he said she said blame game.
The question should really be, would the financial battle have been resolved in a timely manner if there had been less focus on passing blame and a tighter grip on what needed to be accomplished.
The truth is that Federal agencies throughout the country and specifically the Washington D.C. Metro area spent Friday into the late hours preparing for the fall out of the possible shutdown. Wasted time and efforts to run damage control just in case the shutdown had to take place, when it is evident that the federal funding should have been resolved prior to the last waking minutes of the deadline.
With all the jumbled statements from President Obama and the congressional leaders the only statement that rang true over the last week consistently is that no one wanted to see the government shutdown occur.
There is little solace that the common goal was voiced and achieved. The timing is just a little too close for comfort.
It has been said, this is a temporary budgetary solution. The financial status of the country will be re-evaluated at the end of the fiscal year.
With the state of the economy and the stress of rising unemployment, rising foreclosure rates and increased failing businesses, the anticipation of a shutdown of federal programs has been like driving the final nail into the coffin of hope that economic recovery will ever be within the realm of possibilities.
The dying hope of financial triumph and security throughout the country will only begin to heal when citizens can look at the government and understand the direct goals that are being approached and see direct results reflect the original goals.
The drawn out frustration on how the budget would be resolved was over shadowed by the possible federal shutdown, drawing greater concern for a meltdown and losing support in the governments ability to follow through with the task at hand.
There is still the slight glimmer of hope that when the new fiscal year budgets need to be re-evaluated that history will be looked upon instead of repeated by congressional leaders and President Obama.
Only time will tell.
The dying hope of financial triumph and security throughout the country will only begin to heal when citizens can look at the government and understand the direct goals that are being approached and see direct results reflect the original goals.
The drawn out frustration on how the budget would be resolved was over shadowed by the possible federal shutdown, drawing greater concern for a meltdown and losing support in the governments ability to follow through with the task at hand.
There is still the slight glimmer of hope that when the new fiscal year budgets need to be re-evaluated that history will be looked upon instead of repeated by congressional leaders and President Obama.
Only time will tell.
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