Jillian

Jillian on C-Span @ about the 9:20 AM mark - Swine Flu

Predictions for AP Micro FRQ

Q #1 – Perfect Competition-based question

Q #2 – Supply & Demand Question Product & then Factor Market Question Combined

Q #3 – Monopolistic Competition

BCS vs. playoff debate comes to Capitol Hill

Tackling an issue sure to rouse sports fans, lawmakers pressed college football officials Friday to switch the Bowl Championship Series to a playoff, with one Texas Republican likening the current system to communism and joking it should be labeled “BS,” not “BCS.”
John Swofford, the coordinator of the BCS, rejected the idea of switching to a playoff, telling a House panel that it would threaten the existence of celebrated bowl games. Sponsorships and TV revenue that now go to bowl games would instead be spent on playoff games, “meaning that it will be very difficult for any bowl, including the current BCS bowls, which are among the oldest and most established in the game’s history, to survive,” Swofford said.
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, who has introduced legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a game a national championship unless it’s the outcome of a playoff, bluntly warned Swofford: “If we don’t see some action in the next two months, on a voluntary switch to a playoff system, then you will see this bill move.”After the hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee commerce, trade and consumer protection subcommittee, Swofford told reporters: “Any time Congress speaks, you take it seriously.”
Yet it is unclear whether lawmakers will try to legislate how college football picks its No. 1 before the first kickoff of the fall season. Congress is grappling with a crowded agenda of budgets, health care overhaul and climate change, and though President Barack Obama favors a playoff, he hasn’t made it a legislative priority.
College football’s multimillion-dollar television contract also could be an obstacle.
The BCS’s new four-year deal with ESPN, worth $125 million per year, begins with the 2011 bowl games. That deal was negotiated using the current BCS format. While ESPN has said it would not stand in the way if the BCS wanted to change, the new deal allows the BCS to put off making major changes until the 2014 season.Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University, said the legislation could result in a court challenge.
“This is a rare effort by Congress to prevent people from using what is a common description of sporting events,” he said in a telephone interview. The legislation, he said, “may run afoul of the contractual agreements between parties, wiping out benefits that have already been paid for by companies.”Barton, the top Republican on the committee, said at the hearing that efforts to tinker with the BCS were bound to fail.
“It’s like communism,” he said. “You can’t fix it.”
He quipped that the BCS should drop the “C” from its name because it doesn’t represent a true championship.
“Call it the ‘BS’ system,” he said to laughter.

The BCS has been a big problem since it was brought up in college football. Personally i beleive college football teams should have playoffs. This issue will be debated in the upcoming months and hopefully the House committee can do something that changes how the best college football team is crowned

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-bcschampionship-congress&prov=ap&type=lgns

Farmhouse for a dollar

A farmhouse in Leesburg is being sold for a dollar the only catch is you have to move the house off the land. The house is really of no historic importance, but in times like these I found it odd that people would still be willing to move a giant house anywhere. Also moving the house would be a huge hassle because you have to move utility lines out of the way and it would cost more depending on how far you have to move it. Would a house be something that people should really be investing right now is what I am wondering.

Judy Chu

After listening to Hilda Solis's speech, I quickly went into the football field to take a picture with Judy Chu, the current Vice Chair of the California Board of Equalization. Unfortunately, we could not take a picture with Hilda Solis.

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

Finally GM starts to do something on its problem. Since GM has been lost a lot of money in pervious years even in the time that the economy is growing, GM should have been resolve its problem earlier by improving their car models and restructuring their management and workers' health care. Their management is responsible for losting numerous of money and part of the government debt.

The problems with GM is that their cars are not competitive with the German and Japanese cars, that means GM has to work more on that and should try to earn money to return to the government that not to be a bad factor of the country to move away from capitalism.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gm_plan

Judy Chu and me

After Hilda Solis' speech, I saw Judy Chu and take a picture with her. We were so close and almost can take a picture with Hilda Solis but she left when it is our turn to take the picture.

Judy Chu

during the hilda solis event this last sat we meet judy chu...we tried to get hilda solis but there were just too many people

Chrysler Wins Union Concessions

The United Auto Workers announced Sunday that it has reached a tentative agreement on concessions in its contract with Chrysler LLC -- a key step in final efforts to help the automaker avoid bankruptcy.

Looks like there finally may be some hope for the troubling automaker. But i have a hunch that any tentative agreements will not last long. Unions are to blame for many of the problems. When a union demands something, depending on demands a company may or may not agree depending on profits. If it is not profitable then there is no incentive to accept demands but instead to decline. during union strikes there is always heavy losses to both sides depending on which side has the least losses determines who has the upper hand. If every major corporation was unionized there would be major problems. Of course Unions would want more benefits and companies want more profits. Because of this there will be constant gridlock and nothing would get done. chances are many things we take for granted would not be available anymore. That is why counties without unions do better and are more competitive.

Democrats near agreement on budget

President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in Congress have agreed to allow his signature $400 tax cut for most workers expire after next year but are moving to give him a better chance at passing his health care bill.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Friday that most House and Senate negotiators have resolved most of their differences over a congressional budget blueprint designed to advance Obama's agenda through Congress. The measure will set the rules on how Congress considers Obama's agenda for the rest of the year.Lawmakers are rushing to agree on the budget framework in time to give Obama a victory within his first 100 days in office. Late-night talks Thursday produced the framework of a deal that would protect his ambitious plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system from a Republican filibuster. As you can see Obama is trying to pass legislation that would favor him. since he has more than half of the seats in Congress, he wants to give Democrats far more control over the specifics of the health care legislation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30391669/

Top U.S. Military Leader Offers Help to Mexico

Mexico could borrow from U.S. tactics in the fight against terrorism as it battles a crisis of drug-related violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, the top U.S. military officer said Friday.
Returning from a six-day trip to Latin America punctuated by news of beheadings and intimidation by Mexican drug cartels, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the United States could help with equipment and intelligence techniques.
Adm. Mike Mullen would not be specific about what kind of intelligence or surveillance help the United States might offer, but said he saw ways to employ experience the United States has gained in the ongoing hunt for extremists and terrorists.
He would not say whether there may already be U.S. drones flying over bloodstained cities such as Ciudad Juarez, where 17 bodies came into the morgue on one day recently, including the city police force's second-in-command and three other officers.
"Obviously it affects us because of the relationship between the two countries," Mullen said during a telephone news conference as he flew to Washington following meetings in Mexico, his last stop.
Mullen referred to the spike in violence as a crisis, and said it occupied much of his discussions with Mexican military leaders.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Mexico in drug-related violence this year. In 2008, the toll doubled from the previous year to 6,290. Both the U.S. and Canada have warned that murders related to drug activity in certain parts of Mexico, particularly along the border with the U.S., raised the level of risk in visiting the country.
There are signs the violent competition among Mexican drug and smuggling cartels is spilling across the border, as cities in Arizona report increases in such crimes as home invasions. More than 700 people were arrested as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating inside the United States, the Justice Department said last month.
Last weekend, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he also saw opportunities for the U.S. military to help with military training, resources and intelligence.
"I think we are beginning to be in a position to help the Mexicans more than we have in the past. Some of the old biases against cooperation with our -- between our militaries and so on, I think, are being set aside," Gates said in an interview that aired last Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"It clearly is a serious problem," he said.



The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the United States could help with equipment and intelligence techniques after returning from a six-day trip to Latin America punctuated by news of beheadings and intimidation by Mexican drug cartels.

This I myself have seen when I have gone on vacation to Mexico. The famed group is called "Los Zetas," they aren't just drug cartels, but also some corrupt officials. The people there need help because it is has become worse. There are a lot of beheadings and people missing. Most of it is the drug cartels. This is disconcerning because it doesn't let you feel so safe while you visit. This can lead to affectint the Mexican economy even more with less tourism.

I think it is good that something might be done to help solve this problem because it might spread to the US. Here the same thing may be going on, but it is hidden, while in Mexico it is more open. Helping them with intelligence techniques will help Mexico solve the problem themselves without as much interference from the US.

Watch Your Government

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0409/Pelosi_I_didnt_know_about_waterboarding.html

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi was pushing back on GOP charges that accused her of doing nothing to stop waterboarding. Pelosi claims that she had been briefed on the issue but was never really informed about whether or not waterboarding would be used, but there was "opinion" that they could be used. Boehner, House Minority Leader, also claimed that there was a briefing on waterboarding but no one said a word. In defense, Pelosi said that classified intelligence briefings were meant to be kept quiet about.

What does this tell me? This tells me that our government may be getting too corrupt. The US was not suppose to use any sort of interrogation techniques, whether it is waterboarding or something else. I think that using "enhanced interrogation" may lead to unjustifiable answers and forced information, so it probably doesn't work. We need to watch our government. If something like this goes unrecognized, eventually, Pelosi or any other members of government may be the one that prevents us from receiving all our rights. This means that citizens may be subject to being plucked off the street and sent directly to "enhanced interrogation" or what I like to call it: torture.