2014 State of the Union Address predictions

The State of the Union address today will emphasize issues of income inequality, immigration, HealthCare.gov and the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.

 President Barack Obama will lay out his goals for the country and the steps he plans to take to achieve them. He will detail the successes of his past agendas and tie them to his current agenda. 

Obama faces opposition among a republican Congress and citizens, with his approval rating dropping 15 percent since his reelection according to Politico.com. Members of the opposing party, like Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), said the president will sound like a broken record.

“The president has a lot of explaining to do. If all he offers is more of the same, or if he refuses to acknowledge that his own policies have failed to work—the president is simply doing what many failed leaders have done before him.”

According to a Washington Post article written by Philip Rucker and Scott Wilson, Dan Pfeiffer, White House advisor wrote, “He’s very focused and excited. He will lay out a set of real, concrete, practical proposals to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class and empower all who hope to join it.”

A primary issue Obama faces is income inequality. Many states have pushed to increase minimum wage. In the 2013 State of the Union address, Obama proposed raising it to $9 per hour because “it could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank.” This never made it past Congress.  In a Washington Post article, Obama is now backing a Senator’s proposal to raise minimum wage to $10.10 per hour but is open to other proposals.

Obama will push Congress to revive jobless benefits for 1.3 million Americans who lost benefits starting Dec. 28, according to Politico.com. The enthusiasm to achieve income equality will undoubtedly have an impact on this year’s State of the Union.

“In this year of action, the president will seek out as many opportunities as possible to work with Congress in a bipartisan way, but when American jobs and livelihoods depend on getting something done, he will not wait for Congress,” said Dan Pfeiffer.

HealthCare.gov had a rough start this past year with multiple crashes and confusing sign-ups. Obama will address the nation about these issues and assure the website is now functioning better and enrollment numbers have climbed. According to Politico.com, based on previous comments made by the president, one of his top priorities is to persuade the uninsured who attempted and failed to enroll to try again.

President Obama has discussed the issue of immigration consistently throughout his years in the White House, and this year will be no different. Just like his 2013 address, he will urge Congress for a bipartisan agreement and call for “real reform” like background checks, taxes and penalties and learning English.

Another high priority for Obama is a move to clean energy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. This topic is one Obama has based his campaign and previous addresses on time and time again. In 2010, Obama said there would be exploration of offshore areas for oil and gas. He pledged in 2011 to have 80 percent of the country’s electricity come from clean energy sources. Obama said in 2012 he would pursue natural gas through fracking. In 2014, he will reminds us of his statements in the past and warn about the dangers of climate change which leads to global warming. Obama will discuss subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and tax credits for clean energy. According to an article in the Washington Post, an administration official said Obama wants to do all he can to make clean energy part of his presidential legacy and intends to finalize new emission standards for coal-fired power plants this year.

The National Security Agency’s surveillance wire tapping littered the news this past year including the Edward Snowden scandal, in which Snowden revealed many behind the scenes actions of the NSA that were all but ethical. According to reports from CNN, NBC and ABC, this caused millions of Americans anger and fear of the possible overreach by the government. One administration official in a Washington Post article said the NSA’s programs occupied much of Obama’s attention during his recent stay in Hawaii. Obama must discuss the changes he will make to the program in order to calm down millions of Americans. The administration official also said Obama will offer up proposals to bring about the change, but they would need Congress’s approval.

Obama will talk about trade, threats from South Korea and improving our relationships and image among other nations of the world. He will also address the “terrorists” placing threats on the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He will speak on these issues because of their prominence on numerous media outlets and social media sites.

When Obama speaks, he is charismatic and charming. He speaks of a nation brought about by change and one that is always evolving.  The speech today will reveal the potentials of tomorrow and bring inspiration to many citizens, just as they have done in the past. The words he speaks today will have an impact on Americans tomorrow and for years to come. 

Barack Obama told David Remnick of The New Yorker, "At the end of the day, we're part of a long-running story. We just try to get our paragraph right."

MEMORANDUM

MEMORANDUM

TO: BURNIS MORRIS
FROM: JOSIE LANDGRAVE
RE: Story subject: Predictions of major issues President Obama will discuss during the State of the Union Address
Date: January 23, 2014
                                                                                                                                                           


Subject: I will predict topics and issues the president will discuss during the State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. I will base my predictions off of research I conduct from previous State of the Union Addresses and political issues today.
Need: This column will help readers become more knowledgeable of the address itself as well as the issues our country faces today. The reader will be aware of the goals of the president and the possible steps to achieve these goals. This address is given every year and gives citizens a glimpse of where the country is headed. The issues and topics the president will discuss will effect all citizens, therefore all citizens should be knowledgeable of these topics.
Scope: I plan on reporting the issues the country is facing and relay that into predictions of what the president will discuss.  I will also report the president's stance on these issues based on my research and information from previous addresses.
Methods: Research will be based off of internet websites and articles found through scholarly databases.
Sources: My research is based on previous addresses given by Barack Obama. Other research includes op-ed columns from reputable authors, articles on reputable political websites and news topics frequently discussed on reputable news stations and/or websites.
Presentation: My series will be one op-ed column based on the lengths of other op-ed columns from the New York Times and/or The Washington Post. There will be text with no pictures or graphics.
Follow-Up: I plan on responding to my column by tweeting and blogging after the State of the Union Address. These responses will be based off of the accuracy of my predictions and the major issues discussed by the president.

Dr. Martin Luther King- The Dream Isn't Over

         I first heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in my first grade class. We all gathered in a circle and held hands as our teacher read his I Have a Dream speech. We then marched through the narrow hallways of our school singing lyrics from A Man Named King:
           
              "The freedom road is weary and long, Alleluia,
               But Martin sang a freedom song, Alleluia,
               We must keep the dream alive, Alleluia,
               Freedom's song can never die, Alleluia."

       It wasn't until later when I knew what King stood for and all he did to promote equality. In class, learned that in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed, banning discrimination in schools, public places and other fields. I thought to myself-- It's all over! Everyone is equal and no one is discriminated against. We don't need to worry about this anymore. Let's just remember what he did and be thankful.

     Entering the "real world," I got my first job at a fast-food restaurant. I realized everything was not okay. The majority of those employed at my job were black. Among the employees, I was treated differently, as if I wasn't one of them and didn't belong. The customers and my boss treated me differently as well. It seemed as if I was put at a higher regard and more was expected of me. At night, I watched white female customers cling to their purses as a black man walked up to the counter. A white man came in after and the women never looked up from their cheeseburgers.

    In 50 Years Later, Charles M. Blow writes, "We appear to be resegregating-- moving in the opposite direction of King's dream." Blow also referred to a Reuters/Ipsos poll which found "about 40 percent of white Americans and 25 percent of nonwhite Americans are surrounded exclusively by friends of their own race."

   There is nothing wrong with hanging around those most like us, but banishing those who are different is the opposite of what King worked so hard to achieve.

   In a small auditorium at Ohio University Southern yesterday, dozens of community members sat in silence as two black women performed an interpretive dance entitled Change is Going to Come. The dance brought tears to my eyes. The women danced with each other, their worn faces reflecting years of hardship but simultaneously, their eyes sparkled with hope. King brought change, but there is more to be done. Change was going to come and still needs to come. 

   The issue isn't just between blacks and whites. There's issues between genders, those in the north and south, citizens and non-citizens and more. King preached about equality for all. He preached about acceptance for everyone despite gender, color, income or appearance. His dream was to view those from the inside.

  We need MLK Day. We need to remember what King has been able to give us and what still needs to be done. We need to remember all he did and continue to follow in his footsteps. We need to march on and continue his legacy. We need to create our own dreams. We must imagine a place just as King did and fight to make it happen.

 "We must keep the dream alive, Alleluia,
 Freedom's song can never die, Alleluia."
 

MLK Holiday Column Proposal

To: Burnis Morris
From: Josie Landgrave
RE: Story Outline: Proposal for Martin Luther King Holiday


Subject: Why this holiday is still relevant for us to recognize today.
Scope: I will research the effect this holiday has on our communities and what different communities do to celebrate the this day. I will research statistics of African-Americans in every day situations such as those that attend school and college, those that have a certain job and those that are in the political sphere.  I will also research statistics and/or instances of discrimination and prejudice against African-Americans to show Martin Luther King's dream needs to be continued today because there still isn't a complete sense of equality. I may also talk to African-Americans who face adversity because of their race.
Need: Because all schools and government agencies are closed on this day even though this happened many years ago and legally, every race/culture have the same rights. People do not realize it is still important to remember, act upon and model King's message and what he fought for.
Methods: This story can be documented by drawing together all the sources and personal accounts.
Sources: I will check scholarly and peer reviewed sources using EBSCOHost and take facts, statistics and other information to use in my column. I expect to find several statistics as well as examples of real life situations regarding my topic.
I will also attempt to find national experts in the field of race and socialization from when MLK was living all the way to those today.
By using these methods, I hope to find reputable sources and factual information to make my column factually correct and reputable as well.
Presentation: This column will be posted on my blog as well as main points stated via Twitter.
Follow-up: I plan on making one column relating to this assignment and topic. However, if I feel my column will need further clarification or explanation will consider writing another.


               

Assignment #2 Op-Eds

     The authors I chose for the op-ed assignment kept their pieces to roughly two

pages. I feel this is to allow sufficient length to tell a story and get a point across

without dragging out or rambling on about a certain point of view. The leads

generally started out with a personal element, whether it was about the author or

about a person(s) they were using as an example. In the first sentence, a character

is established. In the pieces I selected, the last paragraph referred back to the

character established in the lead, resulting in a complete circle of the narrative.

This allows conclusion and lets the reader to get a sense of completion and ability to

fit all of the puzzle pieces together.

     The tone of the three pieces was that of encouragement and persistence.

These pieces brought emotions out of readers, giving them a sense of strength and

clarity. Through the words and point of views of the authors, readers are given the

tools to think about something they might not have necessarily thought about and

are gives awareness to issues of gender and culture that might not have been

realized.

     The style of writing in these pieces is very personal and relatable. By the

pieces starting out with a character, the reader is automatically brought to a more

personal level with the piece and perhaps the author. The authors weren’t

necessarily worried about using big, scholarly words or metaphors. They focused on

words and examples that are used in our everyday lives, which create a connection

between the reader and the author.


****After discussing in class, I continue to agree with the analysis above.****