Unwelcome Dissent?

Jim Acosta, a reporter for CNN had his press pass revoked by president Trump following an incident in which they argued over a question, and he “laid his hands” on a female aid. [CLICK HERE] There were many willing to argue that the suspension of his press pass was due to the dissenting question Acosta asked, rather than his actions, which in the video did not seem as significant as they made it out to be.

Jim Acosta asked President Trump if he was demonizing immigrants by calling the approaching caravan an “invasion”. Trump proceeded to call Acosta rude and signaled a White House aid to take the microphone from him. As she went to reach for the microphone he tried to block her from taking it saying, “Pardon me ma’am,” as he did so. President Trump later suspended his press pass saying it was due to his “inappropriate behavior” towards the young woman. However, in an interview with Anderson Cooper, Jim Acosta stated he believed the real reason behind his revoked press pass was his questioning of Trumps poor language towards immigrants.
Jim Acosta was questioning Trumps demeaning language towards immigrants during the press conference, and it appeared as though Trump took issue with it. President Trump appeared unwilling to address the issue Acosta brought up, and even called him “rude” for asking such a question. Acosta used his freedom of speech to be a dissenting voice, raising fair questions of President Trumps treatment of others, and was instantly shut down. Political dissent is very common, however it is often dealt with poorly. President Trump, like many, was unhappy with dissent and rather than allowing for a discussion to follow, simply tried to move on from the question.

How can dissent be helpful in politics? How could Trump have better dealt with dissent? Do you believe Acosta’s press pass was revoked due to his dissent, or rather his “actions” toward the White House aid?

Pipe Bomb Investigations

There is an on going investigation into the pipe bombs being sent to prominent people. Pipe bombs were addressed to prominent people in politics such as Joseph Biden Jr., former president Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, Robert DeNiro and a few others (CLICK HERE). 

The police are searching for the man who was at first suspected to have delivered them by hand, but later was believed to have mailed all 10 pipe bombs. Police from Florida, Los Angeles, Washington, and New York are working to find and stop him before he hurts someone. His motive was unclear, but they are operating under the assumption that he is targeting critics of President trump, as Robert DeNiro was known to speak out against him. In this age hate is more present than ever with the political climate being very hostile. People are on polar opposite sides when it comes to politics which often leads to aggression. In this case the agression has reached a deadly level, causing a person to send pipe bombs to those who have spoken openly, as is there right, about their views which oppose Trumps’. We need to work as a country to prevent political aggression from causing acts of terror within our community. But how did the current political climate become as hostile as it is now, and How can we as a country work to resolve the hostility between political parties? How can we create preventative measures to stop people before they commit acts of terror? 

Global Warming Is Real

The devastation's of Hurricane Florence were felt by much of the southeast coast, including South Carolina, North Caroline, and Virginia. Hurricane Florence destroyed upwards of 22 million dollars of property, killed 50 people and flooded 51,000 properties.

A lot of the damage done by the hurricane was in direct correlation to the rising sea levels due to climate change (CLICK HERE). Climate change is causing the ice to melt and flood the seas, thus causing higher storm surges that affect a wider amount of land, as the hurricane passes over. Climate change is causing a rise in the temperature of the water as well, which also has a significant affect on hurricanes. One key component of a hurricane is a water temperature of 82° Fahrenheit in order to have enough energy to give movement to the storm, and the rising temperature of water in other regions can cause the storm to intensify as it passes over.

The affects of Hurricane Florence aided by the rising sea levels caused an additional 11,000 homes to be flooded and destroyed, that otherwise would have been unaffected and created 50 percent more rainfall. The affects of climate change on natural disasters such as Hurricane Florence have been significant and will continue to cause and aid disaster unless we work as a community to help reduce its effects. So how can we collectively help stop global warming? Is it possible to reverse the damage already done by rising sea levels and global warming? If global warming continues increasing at the rate it is, what other aspects of life will be effected?