Bush vs. DeGeneres

George W. Bush vs. Ellen DeGeneres

Can you imagine two people with completely different political views but sitting next to each other at a football game? Twitter blew up when they saw George W. Bush and Ellen Degeneres sitting beside each other and laughing. People were wondering as to why a gay Hollywood Liberal was not only sitting next to a conservative Republican president, but actually enjoying themselves and having a good time. 

It caused so much controversy that Ellen made an announcement about the whole issue on her television show the Ellen DeGeneres Show. She made a very good point when she making her speech and she said, "...just because I don't agree with someone on everything doesn't mean that I'm not going to be friends with them. When I say 'Be kind to one another,' I don't mean only the people that think the same way you do. I mean be kind to everyone. Doesn't matter."

Since she has made this announcement, it has gone viral all over different social media platforms. In todays world, especially in the U.S., people are so caught up in the politics and whose on whose side and what party they affiliate with; they don't stop and realize that in the end it doesn't matter. We are going to have presidents in the future that some people won't agree with but others will and vice versa. We are all here to make a difference in this world and people will want to leave here knowing that they made an impact in a positive way and not holding grudges or being rude to others because they don't have the same political views as you.

Bush vs. Ellen

Above is the link to the story and feel free to comment below as to your opinions to the story!

Postal Service

History of the Postal Service

Many of us still use the Postal Service. It's a very easy way to get a card or package from place to another in a timely manner. I use it all the time to send out cards and gifts across the country where the rest of my extended family lives such as my grandparents. How did this service even come about and what is happening today with it?

In 1775, Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General by Second Continental Congress and the first post office was based off in Philadelphia. Their first mission statement was,"That a line of posts be appointed under the direction of the postmaster general, from Falmouth in New England to Savannah in Georgia with as many cross points as he shall think fit." Todays mission statement and promise from them is,"Everyone has the right to equal access to secure, efficient and affordable mail service." The postal service is the second oldest federal department/agency of the U.S.

Some important dates that helped the postal service become what they are today:

1775: Ben Franklin appointed first Postmaster General

1847: U.S stamps are issued

1860: Pony Express began

1918: Scheduled Airmail service began

1963: Zip Code inaugurated

1971: USPS operations started

1994: Postal Service launched public Internet site

2006: Postal Accountability/Enhancement Act

2009: Free USPS iPhone app offered

As we can see above as the technology changed throughout the years so did the postal service. One of their newer things that they implemented is the iPhone app and if they didn't have an app or if they aren't accessible through cell phones then people wouldn't use them as often. The postal service today has over 400,000 post offices and over 212 billion pieces of mail are delivered to over 144 million homes in the U.S. With over 700 thousand workers, they are the nations largest civilian employer and the employees handle more than 44% of the worlds cards/letters. They are a non-profit organization so they make their money by selling stamps and other products such as cardboard boxes.

Question to think about:

What would happen if we got rid of the postal service? Would it impact our economy in a negative way? Answer in the comments below!

How Big is too Big?

Can an American Flag be too Big?

There is now a legal dispute between the CEO of Camping World and a small town in North Carolina because at Lemonis Gander RV Company in Statesville, NC; they have been flying a flag that was 40ft by 80ft on a 130-foot-high pole.

The resolution of the whole ordeal was that Gander was rezoned so that they were able to keep their flag up, but they had to pay a fine for it. Gander has to pay over $14,000 in fines, plus $2,000 in legal fees. Since Gander is paying these fines, Lemonis does not have to pay a $50 fine per day anymore to keep the flag up. Lemonis believes that the cities band on his large American Flag was unconstitutional and he is in it for the long haul, "We have flown this flag for a long time. As  I told the city...it's not coming down under any circumstance."

My Opinion:
I believe that if a flag is too big where it gets to the point it causes harm to the public such as people becoming distracted while driving then it should raise some questions. If people around the flag are just annoyed by it and it's not causing any other issues besides annoyance, then let it fly as high as it can. The American flag resembles what this country stands for and our amazing history, if people can't see that then they are able to ignore the flag or move away to where it doesn't bother them anymore.

Down below you are able to check out the full story. Let me know your opinions in the comments!
Too Big of a Flag

                                             

Should we Abolish the Supreme Court

Should we Abolish the Supreme Court?

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Before we are able to answer the main question of this post; we should know some of the basic facts of the Supreme Court and what they do. The Supreme Court is consisted of nine justices who don't necessarily have a law background, but most of them do. There are no restrictions as who can be a justice because the Constitution does not place limitations on who can or can not be a justice. Within a year the court receives around 7,000 to 8,000 cases to review, but they are able to pick and choose which ones they would like to look at. They typically are able to hear 70-80 cases.

Going back to our main discussion; recently the Supreme Court's credibility has been in question. The most recent case is the Brett Kavanaugh and the whole debacle behind that. Others that come up would be legalizing same sex marriage and praying in public schools. The Supreme Court has denied rights and have disappointed the public for many years now. The highest part of the governmental branch has been passing vague laws that can interpreted in many different ways and can become very confusing. Many people believe that the Supreme Court has too much authority and the other lower branches of government can't do much to fix it. The only remotely way to change the Supreme Court would be adding a new member of justice once one of them steps down. This can be in one's favor depending on their political views. The newest member is Brett Kavanaugh and he was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts. Kavanaugh mostly sides with the Republican party with four other justices. 

Hong Kong Protests

What You Need to Know About the Hong Kong Protests

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In the last few months, Hong Kong has been protesting against mainland China because China has been impeding on them and violating their rights as citizens. Hong Kong is special because they were once ruled by the United Kingdom. When the UK gave them to China, they agreed they would be "One country, Two systems." 

This policy was supposed to last for 50 years, but China has been starting to control them. The protestors started off calm, but it soon escalated to violent riots. There are five main demands that the protestors are protesting for and that is: withdraw the bill (extradition bill), leader Carrie Lam should step down, inquiry into police brutality due to a woman getting hurt in the eye, if people have been arrested they should be released and finally and most importantly, greater democratic freedoms.

These protests are going to continue until Hong Kong's government puts their foot down and demands China to step back. They are not part of China as of right now and they have more democratic freedoms. There has been a viral photo traveling around the internet and it is the American flag being held in front of the protestors.

The United States is the poster child for freedom of speech and a democratic country. Hong Kong aspires to have a system like ours and therefore our flag is being flown to resemble freedom.