Animal rehab centers still at work after BP spill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/la_gulf_oil_spill_stragglers;_ylt=AvrwIXge4UjZE9WEduumHyewhrZ_;_ylu=X3oDMTNhNnU3MDd1BGFzc2V0Ay9zL2FwL2xhX2d1bGZfb2lsX3NwaWxsX3N0cmFnZ2xlcnMEY2NvZGUDbXBfZWNfOF8xMARjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzMEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNhbmltYWxyZWhhYmM


Dozens of animals are still being treated at Gulf Coast rescue centers five months after the capping of the Macondo oil well off the Louisiana coast. The animals include a baby sea turtle that escaped from a shark, only to get stuck in oil spilled from BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico, and a young dolphin that apparently was attacked by his mother and then swam into oil. The animals are among thousands rescued since more than 200 million gallons of oil began gushing from the well. Since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, rescue officials say 2,079 birds, 456 sea turtles, some terrapins and two dolphins have been plucked from the oil.Another 2,263 birds, 18 turtles and four dolphins were found dead with oil on them. Workers are seeking to determine whether crude from the BP well killed them.

This relates to government because when the oil spill happened the efforts of the government to help stop it were almost nonexistant. They did not take it upon themselves to find a solution to plug it and now five months after the oil well was capped animals and other wild life are stuff suffering the effects.

I think that the government should have down more to help plug the oil well. Even though it wasn't their fault that is exploded it's had a huge impact on the animals and wildlife living in the gulf. Their are organizations still trying to clean up the mess that took so long to plug.

House Democrats are mad over Obama's handling of tax deal

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_democrats

The struggle over tax cuts is really straining President Obama's relationship with House Democrats, who have backed him on key issues even when it cost them politically. Democratic lawmakers say Obama ignored them at crucial negotiating moments, misled them about his intentions.The president has responded that he acted honorably and drove the best bargain he could. "Hardly anybody in the Democratic caucus here feels that the president tried hard enough to deliver on his campaign promises," said Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida,
Hurt feelings can mend over time and it's not clear how much political damage Obama will suffer because of disenchantment among House members. His allies note that House Democrats will be in the minority in the new Congress, and it's essential for the president to negotiate with the newly ascendant Republicans to get things done.

This relates to government because it's an issue that our government is dealing with. The tax cuts are causing a huge conflict between republicans and democrats. The President has lost a lot to "friends" over this issue.

I think that is was imporant for the tax cuts to be extended because Americans are already broke and cannot afford to pay their bills. If they were expected to pay even more money towards taxes they obviously couldn't afford it. I don't think it would do the government any good to raise the taxes because their aren't very many people that could actaully afford it so they probably wouldn't make much money.

Metrodome roof collapse

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101214/ap_on_sp_ot/us_winter_storm_metrodome_collapse


      On Monday crews began inspecting the Minnesota stadium's three decades-old roof after it collapsed under the weight of heavy snow and forced the Vikings to move their game to Detroit. Sunday's roof collapse was the fourth since the 29-year-old facility opened, and it has brought back up the debate about whether the broke state should build a new venue using taxpayer money. The Vikings have asked lawmakers for more than 10 years for a new stadium, arguing the Metrodome is outdated and doesn't generate enough revenue. The team's lease runs through the 2011 season and they have said they won't renew it. The stadium's Teflon roof gave out on Sunday after a  storm hit the region, dropping 17 inches of snow.

     This is related to government because it's just the start of the winter season and the snow is already causing millions of dollars worth of damage that our country cannot afford to pay for.

      I think they need to replace the Vikings stadium because it has already collapsed 4 times and the costs to repair it all 4 times will be a ton of money so they should just fix it right so it doesnt continually happen. I also think that the snow this year is going to cause a huge budget deficite for tons of states and our country in general.

Health Care

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul


           The health care law had its first setback Monday when a federal judge declared that the heart of the legislation is unconstitutional. The decision handed Republicans ammunition for their repeal effort next year.
The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, who is a Republican appointee in Richmond, Virginia. It's been said that The a requirement for all Americans to carry insurance is unconstitutional and above congress' power. But administration officials and outside analysts agree that important provisions of the legislation could not go forward without the requirement for everyone to be insured. That's because insurers need to have large pools of healthy people, who are cheap to insure, or it is not financially tenable for them to extend coverage to those with pre-existing medical problems

           This relates to government because it's one of the current issues that we are dealing with. If this law is passed and everyone is required to buy health care it will have an impact on our generation. We will be the ones who test it.

           I think that having everyone have health care insurance is a good idea. Those of us who do have it now usually end up paying for the ones who don't anyways so we should just go ahead and provide them with care. and like they said the need healthy people to pay into the system so that insurance companies can afford to provide care for those who are unhealthy.