8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 8 'Will I die, miss?' Terrified Syrian boy suffers suspected gas attack

Two hours ago, a chemical bomb was dropped in Syria. Though this is not specific to American politics, I believe that it is necessary to address. Right now in my art class we are doing what's called the memory project, where we draw portraits of underprivileged children that don't always have access to the basic necessities. This year, we are drawing Syrian refugees, so this is especially relevant to me right now and it breaks my heart that this is happening to innocent children. A little boy was caught in what is thought to be a gas attack while he was watching planes outside. He was exposed to yellow smoke and rushed to the hospital, and upon arrival at the hospital, it was bombed with the same chemicals. Syrian children and adults are in constant fear of their lives and in need of help. Our efforts to help Syria are not enough when things like this are happening. The American government needs to take a stand and help provide for the Syrian refugees and take them into America, despite their refugee status. There should be no threat that if a child goes outside, they will be harmed with yellow gas.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 8 Building a Civilization on Space

CNN posted a video detailing plans for the final frontier. Apparently, ULA, an organization that produces rockets, is creating a rocket that will be cost efficient, stay in space longer than any other spacecraft, and it will allow people to build and reuse things from the atmosphere in space. It is said by 2046 that there will be a population of a thousand people living in space, they will build houses and communities in space. The organization has hundreds of workers planning and researching the idea of living in space, and so far they've found that by using water and other abundant natural resources, we can reuse anything. This entire idea of living in space is a topic of debate, however, because many space organizations have shut down their rockets and stopped sending new teams up in space. There will certainly be a lack of funding to this project, so ULA will have to turn to the government for funding on this massive undertaking.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 8 Chattanooga, Tennessee Bus Crash

On CNN, a breaking news article caught my eye. In the past few hours, there was a bus crash in Chattanooga, killing at least six children, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. While this is a tragedy and a disaster, the fire department says that they have been trained for these situations. There were over thirty-five children on the bus, and family members involved in the crash are hysterical. The government needs to take charge and upgrade transportation in the public school systems, or remove public transportation as a whole. Buses are busy, loud, and crowded, so it's easy for the driver to become distracted. New laws need to be introduced increasing the safety of children on public transportation, as some school buses don't even have seat belts.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 8 Donald Trump supporters are angry with Pepsi

On CNN, an article was released claiming that big brand names like New Balance and Pepsi had claimed to either love or hate Donald Trump. New Balance was said to have claimed New Balances as the shoes of the Donald Trumps presidency, while the Pepsi brand claimed that they couldn't support Trump. Both of these alleged claims are incorrect and both brands have denied ever saying these things in the first place. The claims were said to be embedded in Facebook ads with false advertising. Though Donald Trump hasn't made a statement about this yet, the brands are furious and arguing with Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg. This raises the question of whether our news is well regulated and if Donald Trump is really supported by who he says he is. Pepsi has been boycotted by Trump supporters, showing that there is a real conflict over this situation.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 8 Crossing the border as a Trump presidency looms

Recently on CNN, an article was released claiming that more immigrants have been crossing the border since Trump's election. The immigrants are said to be flooding the borders for better economic opportunities thought to be found in the United States. Though, Trump has made promises of building a wall across the border, the immigrants are starting to fight back and claim that they are citizens too and have rights. There has been much debate regarding whether Donald Trump is allowed to build this wall and if he has jurisdiction over such a large commitment.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 7 Michelle tries to make Meliana feel at Home

On Politico, an article detailed Michelle Obama and Meliana Trump's first meeting in the White House. They discussed childcare, how to prepare for life in the White House, and their husbands. Though Michelle obviously has very strong views about Donald Trump (calling him "disgraceful" in a previous speech) Meliana is sure that Donald will be fit for the job. The encounter was said to be a little awkward, however, as the two ladies tried to relieve the tension. There is much debate on whether Trump deserved office, and Michelle seems to be on Hillary's side.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 7 Reports of Racist Graffiti

On CNN, after Trump's election, it's been said that college students, adults, and children are rioting against Trump. On top of this, Trump supporters are using his accusations to carry out hostile acts like robbing Muslims or disrespecting school property with heinous language. There was a video released today inside a middle school cafeteria with students shouting together, "Build the wall!" This is both startling and extremely dangerous for America. Though Trump has yet to make a statement on this issue yet, other government officials are saying that the riots need to stop and that children shouldn't have a say in politics. However, the riots rage on.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 7 The moment America knew

On CNN, an article details the faces of Americans finding out that Trump had won. Many are depressed and sobbing, while others are wearing red hats and celebrating. There is much debate surrounding if the stock market will crash because Trump has been elected president, however, most articles say that there will just be a drop in stocks, not a crash. There are lots of somber faces on the CNN article. Lots of women of different colors, races, and cultures thought that Hillary was going to win, she was even projected to win. It will be strange with Trump as president, but the CNN article shows that many supporters of Trump are overjoyed and bliss about the outcome of the 2016 election.

Elections Blog Post

       Last night, it was announced that Claudia Tenney won the Congressional Race in the 22nd District (New York). Claudia Tenney is pro-Trump, so it's very fitting that she won and Trump did as well. She was mostly self funded and though Kim Myers had more ad campaigns and endorsers, Claudia Tenney still won. She only raised $254,541 for her campaign, but she was projected to win from the start. I choose to focus on Claudia Tenney for my candidate in the New York 22nd Congressional Race and she won. Claudia Tenney previously ran for Congress and lost against the incumbent Richard Hanna, however, this year Richard Hanna wasn't running for reelection, so Claudia had a larger chance of winning. Claudia Tenney and Donald Trump have most of the same conservative views, so it's no wonder she won the race. Claudia Tenney won the vote with 120,777 and 47%, while Kim Myers had 103,955 and 40%, and Martin Babinec, (a millionaire) only had 32,303 and 13% of the votes.

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 7 Live Election!

If you go to CNN looking for a nice whale story to write about, you will not find one. There is only coverage on the election right now, as there should be. Currently, the election in Florida is back and forth on different counties and it's still a toss up which way the swing state will sway. The Cuban vote is said to sway the election in Florida. My entire family is nervous, as am I, to see who will be the next ruler of our country, more or less.  Apparently the Cuban vote is swaying mostly toward Hillary Clinton, and it's interesting because Donald Trump basically said he would evacuate all immigrants, so the Cuban's have no choice. The Cubans, almost turn into single-issue voters, for their own safety!

8-Day Blog Post: Cycle 7 Your Brain on LSD

On CNN, a photographer reports his findings about a group called the Merry Pranksters, a clique of teenagers back in the 60s who experimented with LSD in educational and "safe situations." The photographer explains that he was a sponge in their adventures, he never took part in the then legal drug use, but instead admired them from afar and soaked up whatever information they had to offer. Though the drug is now illegal and highly dangerous, the photographer makes the case that America lost a sense of journalism, because it used to be wild and free, but now it's controlled and concealed. The fight for freedom of speech in the first amendment is still being heavily debated today as to whether we are really free, or if the government will judge and label others based on what they do.